Untitled Affections
by loonymoony17
Summary: A story about Konoha's best and brightest medic, a reclusive silver-haired shinobi, and some troublesome untitled affections.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Okay, I'll start by saying, if you are reading "When Skies are Grey", don't worry, I'm not abandoning it. It may wind up being shorter than I previously anticipated, though... I'm just facing an extreme lack of inspiration for that story currently, and I think it has something to do with the fact that I accidentally started shipping KakaSaku... _hard._ And so I just had to start writing this KakaSaku story I've had bouncing around in my head. I struggled with whether or not I should post this first chapter, as I don't know how quickly I'll be able to update, but I just decided to get it up and see if anyone is actually interested in reading it. I'll probably write the whole story regardless of if anyone wants to read it or not, but if people like it I'll keep posting it here.**

 **Obviously there's an age gap between Sakura and Kakashi, in this story it's about 12 years, (that's the shortest age gap that I thought I could get away with with their canonical ages xD), but don't worry, Sakura is a consenting adult! I'm gonna go ahead and stick an M rating on this story, although it doesn't really apply to this chapter. I'll try to make sure to post a warning at the beginning of any chapters that merit the "M". ;)**

 **Anyway, read on, my dear friends! Let me suck you into the obsession that is KAKASAKU *heart eyes*.**

* * *

 _If you were my boat in the deep blue sea,_

 _I'd probably sink you down._

 _I know I should've thanked you for carrying me,_

 _But for you I would happily drown._

 _If There Was No You (Brandi Carlile)_

Chapter One: Feelings

* * *

She breathed heavily, each pull of oxygen straining her already tired lungs just a little bit more. Sakura could feel the warm blood trickling quickly down her back and she grimaced. That was _really_ going to sting tomorrow. If she lived until tomorrow, that is.

A cool hand wrapped around her wrist, and she looked up to see the tired and concerned eyes of her silver-haired companion gazing down at her. "Are you alright, Sakura? You're losing a lot of blood, we need to get your wound closed up."

Before she was able to choke out a half-hearted "I'm fine", an explosion blasted them apart. She thought she heard someone shouting her name, probably Naruto, but she was unable to focus on the sound as the ringing in her ears grew to a nearly unbearable pitch. The images of the trees and field around her faded away in a blast of bright white light, and Sakura wondered if she was dying.

She felt herself slipping…into death or unconsciousness, she wasn't sure which. She struggled helplessly against the white light that was threatening to engulf her completely, taking her in from every angle and refusing to release its merciless grip on her. Sakura tried to scream out in frustration, but was silenced completely as the light overwhelmed her. She was weightless, without form, and she felt herself floating freely without any control over her own body.

She was gone.

* * *

When Kakashi had agreed to take this mission, he was actually looking forward to it. It had been quite some time since he had been on a mission with just Sakura and Naruto, and so for old time's sake he had agreed to go. Plus, he and Sakura had gotten very close over the past few years, and their relationship had slowly shifted from teacher-student to friends. They were now sparring partners and often met to simply talk or sit in silence. They found peace in each other's company as a sort of respite from the somewhat hectic and hyperactive life of a Leaf Village ninja. He would never turn down a mission with her.

When Tsunade had offered the mission to the three of them, she had said it was probably a little below the skill level of the three shinobi in front of her, but the three of them were available that week and she figured they might enjoy a reunion of sorts. Kakashi and Sakura had made automatic and natural eye-contact, a smile behind both of their gazes as Naruto burst out his acceptance for all three of them.

But now, Kakashi found himself hunched over Sakura's broken form, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he watched blood pour from the many wounds covering her body. There was one particularly nasty gash across her forehead that the blood was practically squirting from, and Kakashi immediately tried to stop the flow with his gloved hand. He was no longer worried about the enemies they had been facing, he could hear Naruto making short work of them in his great anger, and Kakashi knew that the fox-boy would have no problems now. Anyone who knew Naruto knew that anyone who hurt Sakura was as good as dead.

The mission was supposed to have been simple. They were escorting an important diplomat back to her home in the Hidden Sand Village, it should have been a piece of cake. However, on their way through the River Country, the trio and their client ran into a large squad of ninja from the Hidden Mist Village. Kakashi, the legendary copy-nin, was in their Bingo book, and the Mist ninjas didn't want to pass up on an opportunity to catch the elusive Hatake Kakashi. They obviously thought it would be relatively easy to apprehend Kakashi, there were five Mist ninjas and they seemed to underestimate the hyperactive Naruto and the incredibly small Sakura. They had ignored the diplomat completely.

How foolish they had been.

While it hadn't been easy, they had taken out all but two of the Mist ninjas, and that's when it had all gone to hell. As Sakura had gone to land one of her outstanding punches right into the face of one of the enemy nin, he had jumped out of the way, causing Sakura's arm to become lodged in the large stone behind where the man had been standing. The Mist ninja took this opportunity to hurl a kunai at Sakura, and she had only been able to move herself enough so that the weapon couldn't pierce any vital organs. It struck her in her left side with a dull thud that Kakashi had heard from across the field that was hosting their battle.

Kakashi had been there in an instant, throwing a kunai with deadly accuracy so that it stabbed the unsuspecting Mist ninja through the back of the head. He was immediately at Sakura's side, helping her to remove her arm from where it was lodged almost elbow deep into the boulder.

That's right about when the explosion had gone off.

Now Sakura lay at his feet, obviously bleeding out without much time left. He began to use every healing jutsu he knew, trying with little success to close up her many wounds. He wasn't a great healer, he knew that, healing was Sakura's forte. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing himself to focus his chakra and to calm down enough to actually make some progress. When he opened his eyes again he was determined, and he managed to close up a few of the more deadly looking gashes.

"How is she?!" Naruto asked much too loudly as he suddenly appeared next to Kakashi. The boy was covered in blood that Kakashi could only assume wasn't his own. Those ninja had chosen the wrong squad to mess with, that was for sure.

"I don't know," Kakashi replied in his cool voice, trying hard to conceal the extreme worry he felt like he was drowning in. "At this point, it makes the most sense to get her to the Hidden Sand Village. Go find Lady Haruki and tell her we must hurry."

"Kakashi…" Naruto began with wide eyes. "There's no way in hell Sakura is going to make it at the slow pace that we'll have to go for that woman. You go ahead and take her. I'll stay back with what's-her-name."

Kakashi considered this option. Naruto was probably right, Sakura was _not_ in good shape, and he'd be damned if she died on his watch. However, he didn't think it was a good idea to leave the Sand Village diplomat with only one twenty-one year old escort, regardless of the fact that Naruto was one of the most powerful ninja he had ever known. But as Kakashi's gaze shifted to the girl curled up and dying at his feet, he knew what had to be done.

"Alright, Naruto, you're right. I don't like this, but we really don't have a choice here. I'll get Sakura to the Sand Village and you escort Lady Haruki. Just please," Kakashi added quietly, "Be careful. Sakura will kill us both if something happens to you."

Naruto cracked a smile, despite the circumstances. "I know she will, I'll be fine, promise."

With that, Kakashi wasted no time gathering the broken pink girl in his arms and launching off as fast as his legs and chakra would carry him towards the Village Hidden in the Sand.

* * *

When Sakura woke up, she was alone. Sitting up slowly so as not to further aggravate her throbbing head, Sakura carefully looked around, surveying her surroundings. She was in the same field that she had been fighting in with Kakashi and Naruto, however, now they were nowhere to be found.

Looking down at herself, Sakura also realized that her body was completely free of injury, although the pain was still there. She was wearing a bright white dress that she had never seen before in her life and her feet were bare and cold. Upon examining her hands, she also found that her skin was inhumanly pale and almost transparent. She put her hand over her chest to slow the racing of her heart, but was shocked to find no beating there. She swore she felt the sensation of a beating heart in her chest, but her hand registered no vibrations.

Was she dead?

She felt like she had to be dead. Was this the afterlife? Was she cursed to forever wander the field she had died in, as a ghost perhaps? Or was all of this in her head? She supposed that perhaps she was just unconscious, but it seemed unlikely. This felt like the end.

Standing up despite the pain in her body, Sakura spun around in a slow circle, trying to decide if what she was seeing was real or not. "Kakashi? Naruto?" she called out, testing her voice. The words echoed back to her endlessly, as if a thousand Sakura's were shouting the names one after the other. The sound continued for almost a full minute, and Sakura decided then that she wouldn't be yelling anymore.

A sudden and extreme exhaustion washed over her, and almost against her will, Sakura crumpled back to the ground. Her vision immediately began to dim and she felt her body fall backward, softly into the daisies. Before her vision went completely dark, Sakura was able to see the sky for a moment. It wasn't blue, but a rainbow of warped colors churning around and melting together across the expanse. A face began to appear in the multicolor sky as her vision blackened further.

She smiled as her eyes closed. "Kakashi."

* * *

Kakashi stopped immediately upon hearing Sakura say his name. It had been a whisper, but he had definitely heard her say it. "Sakura?" he questioned, not bothering to mask the worry in his voice this time. He scowled when he didn't receive an answer, and took off again, even more swiftly than before, if that was possible.

He hoped to reach the Sand Village in about half a day, and he prayed to a god that he didn't believe in that she could hold on for that long.

Sakura had come to mean so much to him. More than anyone. He had no idea when it had happened or when something had changed, but now, faced with her possible death, Kakashi knew that he couldn't live without her. She was the only person who really understood him, she understood his quiet and private ways and didn't push him to explain himself to her. But when he did explain himself or when he needed to talk, she was always there to listen. He was there for her too.

He remembered the first time they had had one of their talks, one of their _moments._ One of the times that was so special now in Kakashi's memory…

 _He sensed her presence before he saw her. He didn't bother to look up from his book, he figured if she wanted to talk, she'd say something. He was leaning up against his favorite tree, its massive trunk had more than enough room to relax against comfortably. This was his favorite spot to come and read or to think._

 _"Kakashi," he heard her say in greeting from somewhere above his head._

 _The copy-nin grunted a syllable that sounded like "yo", still not lifting his eyes from the dirty novel in his lap. If Kakashi was one thing, he was consistent._

 _"Can I ask you a question?"_

 _Kakashi grumbled slightly, pretending to be annoyed at being interrupted. He didn't mind the kunoichi's presence, but he felt the need to act like he was being bothered. He didn't question the urge. It fit his character._

 _"Am I unattractive?" Sakura's voice came from above him again, although this time slightly to the left._

 _Kakashi had not been expecting that question, and he sat in a half-stunned silence for a moment. Was she…what?_

 _Apparently taking his silence as affirmation, Sakura scoffed audibly, jumping down from the tree branch she must have been perched on. She landed with her back to Kakashi. He couldn't keep his eyes from wandering up her thin form, and he thought to himself "Definitely_ not _unattractive." She was wearing a loose black dress that stopped a few inches above her knees, and the soft wind rustled the hem around her toned legs._

 _"Cat got your tongue, Kakashi?" she still didn't turn to look at him._

 _"Why would you even bother asking, Sakura? I'm sure you know the answer. You have more men chasing after you than any other female in this village," Kakashi answered carefully, not sure if there was a line he needed to be wary of crossing. Sakura was a woman now, but as his ex-student, he wasn't entirely sure of an appropriate response._

 _As she turned to face him, he was struck by her beauty along with the sad look in her green eyes. She looked like she had been dressed up for something, and she looked amazing. Her pink hair was blowing softly in the wind, the shoulder-length, wavy locks framed her face beautifully._

 _"What's wrong, Sakura?" he couldn't help but ask, the curiosity was too much to take._

 _The young woman eyed him warily, finally seeming to decide to sit down on the ground across from him. The way she was sitting was probably considered indecent for a woman wearing a dress, and Kakashi scolded himself for having to strain to keep his eyes focused on her face. What had gotten into him? He knew he was a pervert but…geez._

 _"Sasuke ended things," Sakura finally said, carefully, quietly. "It's not like he hasn't done this before but…this time…this time I don't think I want him back. Today was our anniversary. Well, scratch that, it was our one year anniversary since the last time we broke up. We've never actually been able to stay together this long before," she laughed without humor._

 _"This time was different," Sakura continued. "He told me this time that there was someone else, although he neglected to say who. He told me that he wasn't attracted to me anymore and that I've 'lost it'." Sakura shrugged, "I don't know what the hell 'it' is but apparently it's something that I need to have to be good enough for him. He also said my hair really weirds him out," Sakura made an annoyed face at that last bit. "As if I can actually help the color of my hair._

 _Kakashi just sat listening to the small ninja beside him, soaking in her words and deciding what to say in response. He'd have to kick Sasuke's ass, that much was for sure…_

 _"You don't have to say anything," Sakura said, as if reading his mind, "I just needed someone to talk to. If I would've told Naruto, he may have taken it upon himself to beat Sasuke to a pulp. He doesn't take well to our break-ups. I didn't want to talk to Ino either. Usually I would but…I'm not convinced that she isn't the 'someone else' that Sasuke mentioned."_

 _Kakashi continued to sit in silence for a few moments, before asking, "He actually told you that he doesn't like your hair?"_

 _Sakura snorted a sarcastic laugh. "That's not even that bad. Last time he broke up with me he was drunk and he said, and I quote, that he had never been less attracted to a human being in all his life, including Naruto."_

 _Kakashi openly stared at her in disbelief. "Yikes, I knew Sasuke could be a little harsh but…yikes. Maybe he just has a thing for Naruto."_

 _Sakura cracked a smile and nodded. "Tell me about it. I cried for a week after that. We wound up back together a few days later. I'm not sure how or why. But I really want to be done this time. I've wasted so much time on that stupid Uchiha. I used to think that meant I had to stay with him or all that time would have been meaningless, but now I just want to get as far away from that relationship as I can and never look back. I'm not wasting anymore time."_

 _The forlorn look on her face struck Kakashi deeply. She was staring out in front of her, her bright green eyes focused on nothing in particular. She wasn't a child anymore, and he found that he was just now realizing that fact._

 _Leaning over, he tapped her shoulder gently. "Sasuke is a fool, Sakura. Don't listen to the shit that he says." Smiling his eye-scrunching smile, he added, "Trust me, you're hot as hell."_

 _With that, he disappeared, relishing in the short glimpse he caught of her shocked green eyes as he vanished into thin air._

* * *

Kakashi arrived in the Sand Village just as the sun was setting. Meeting the guards at the gate, he explained who he was and what had happened. Immediately, one of the guards rushed off to explain the situation to the Kazekage, who would most likely send support out to Naruto. One of the other guards escorted Kakashi and Sakura to the Sand's medical building, looking worriedly over his shoulder at the damaged girl in Kakashi's arms frequently.

"Are you sure she's still alive?" the guard asked Kakashi carefully.

Kakashi glared. "I'm sure."

Sakura was rushed to the healers immediately upon being received into the medical building. She was practically ripped from Kakashi's arms and he couldn't help but be annoyed as she was whisked away from him so suddenly. He was suddenly without purpose and he didn't like it. He shoved his hands into his pockets immediately and slouched into a comfortable position against the wall in the waiting room.

The nurse sitting at the front desk had her eyes on him, he could feel it, and he did his best to appear cold and uninterested. He didn't feel like talking to anyone unless it was about what had happened to Sakura.

He felt guilty, like it was his fault somehow. He should have sensed the danger, he should have pushed her away. _He_ should be the one injured, not her.

A few different healer-nins came out to speak to him, asking various questions about how she was injured and the jutsus he had already used to heal her. The last healer who came out to speak to him patted his arm gently before returning to care for Sakura, saying, "You did very well getting her here so quickly, Kakashi-san, much longer and she wouldn't have made it."

After a seemingly endless amount of time, he was approached again by one of the healers. It did not comfort Kakashi to see the healer-nin's sleeves covered in blood.

Kakashi looked up expectantly, unable to voice his questions and hoping that the healer would speak on his own.

"She's stable for now," the man began, "but she's still unconscious. She lost a ridiculous amount of blood, she's lucky that you got her here so fast. A couple more hours and it would've been too late."

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. "So I've heard." _She was alive._ Nothing had ever brought him so much happiness. He had prepared himself for the worst.

"Are you Kakashi? She keeps saying that name," the healer questioned the silver-haired ninja.

Kakashi looked up suddenly. So he hadn't imagined her saying his name before. "Yes, that's me."

"Wow, it's an honor to meet you," the healer practically gushed, "the famous copy-nin."

Kakashi got the impression from the healer that he was interested in him in more than one way, and the copy-nin was suddenly very uncomfortable. "Er, can I see her yet?"

It took the healer a few moments to answer as he had taken to staring at Kakashi with wide and starry eyes. "Oh! Well…I'm really not supposed to allow a person in her condition any visitors, but…I'll make an exception. For _you._ Follow me."

Kakashi immediately fell in line behind the healer, and grimaced at his quickly increasing heart rate. _Pull yourself together,_ he thought, _she's alive and that's what is important._

Still, the silver-haired ninja fought the worry that crept up in his chest as he walked through the white-tiled hospital hallways. He prepared himself to see her again, hoping she looked a little better than when she was taken from him. There were parts of her arms where several layers of skin had been completely removed, and he grimaced at the memory. She must have been in so much pain…

"Here we are," the healer motioned to a room at the end of the hall. "She's in here."

Kakashi walked past the healer without so much as a second glance, nervously approaching the only bed in the room.

She was laying on her back, her pink hair spread around her pale face like a halo. She was hooked up to a bunch of medical equipment that Kakashi didn't really understand and she was covered in bandages from nearly head to toe. He reached out to brush a stray piece of hair from her forehead, feeling the familiar tingle against his fingertips as he touched her. He couldn't touch her without that sensation anymore. He couldn't ignore the burning.

"Lord Kazekage!" Kakashi heard the healer splutter from the doorway. "I'm sorry, I know he shouldn't be in here but he saved her life and I-"

Kakashi looked over to see Gaara raise a hand to stop the healer from speaking. "It's alright, these are friends of mine." The redhead nodded towards Kakashi.

"Lord Kazekage," Kakashi bowed slightly in greeting.

The Sand's Kazekage laughed a little, but without any mirth. "You know you can still call me Gaara."

Kakashi tried to smile. "I know."

Gaara turned to the healer who was still standing in the room, obviously in awe of the two great ninja before him. "You are dismissed."

After a flurry of bows in both Gaara's and Kakashi's directions, the healer sped out of the room.

"Sorry, he can be a little…over-eager at times," Gaara apologized. "How's Sakura? What the hell happened?"

Kakashi recounted the whole tale to the young Kazekage, explaining how they had been attacked by Mist ninja and how an explosion had injured Sakura so badly. "I feel responsible. Those ninja were after me. I don't know why she took so much damage from the blast and why I got away almost perfectly unscathed. We were both standing there. Neither of us jumped in time."

"Hm," Gaara rubbed his chin in thought. "That _is_ strange. But don't feel responsible, Kakashi, you did everything you could to protect your comrades, I'm sure. Also, I've sent out some help to Naruto, though I doubt he'll need it. I expect that they'll arrive here in another day or two, depending on their pace."

Kakashi nodded solemnly. "Thank you."

The copy-nin watch as Gaara laid his hand over Sakura's, squeezing it gently, and couldn't help the bubble of irritation that rose in his throat at the Kazekage's small gesture. He knew that Gaara's intentions were completely honorable, but it still made Kakashi uncomfortable to see a man's hands on Sakura in any way, even if just in friendship. Shaking his head quickly, he mentally scolded himself for his line of thought. Sakura's health was in danger and here he was getting jealous that a friend was holding her hand. He was getting ridiculous…

"Well, I have some things to see to," Gaara said to Kakashi, releasing Sakura's hand, "I can see that you are distressed. I can arrange for you to have a room here in the medical building if you wish to be near her?"

Kakashi suddenly regretted feeling anger towards the Kazekage. "That would be great. Thank you…Gaara."

The redheaded ninja simply smiled at him and bowed slightly, leaving the room and promising that a room would be ready for him soon.

Kakashi took a moment to realize he was now alone with Sakura. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and gingerly took hold of her hand as Gaara had done before him. "Sakura, I don't know if you can hear me, but please…be okay."

The tired shinobi laid his head down on the side of her bed, and began to drift to sleep as the summer sun peaked its head over the horizon.

* * *

Sakura woke with a start this time. She coughed and water flew from her lips, she quickly realized she was caught in a strong river current. Doing her best to swim for the shore, Sakura struggled against the strong flow of the water. She growled in frustration, because no matter how hard she swam, the shore seemed to grow farther and farther away from her.

She felt as though she was trapped in a nightmare. She had been swimming for hours, she would swear to it, but still the shore was farther away than when she had started. To make things worse, rain had begun to pour from the sky above and Sakura was now being soaked from above and below. The chill began to seep into her bones and she was sure she couldn't keep up much longer.

As her arms and legs began to grow numb with cold and overuse, she felt herself begin to sink beneath the water, and she found she hadn't even the strength to attempt to save her own life. Instead she watched with open eyes as she sank…down, down, down, the light quickly fading as she fell deeper; a stark contrast to the light that had overwhelmed her the last time she had been awake.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her shirt, and she felt herself being dragged back up through the water. When she finally felt her savior and herself break the surface, she sucked in the deepest breath her lungs could hold. The next thing she knew she was on her back, and she blinked up at the blurry face hovering above her own. She could just make out a head of thick, silver hair…

"Kakashi?"

* * *

Kakashi sprang to attention. Sakura had just said his name again, although this time it sounded like a question.

"Sakura? Sakura, can you hear me?" Kakashi asked, running his fingers lightly over her face, watching for any reaction.

Nothing.

Kakashi sat back down, disheartened. Hearing her speak had given him hope…hope that was destroyed almost as quickly as it was received. He reached back out for the pink girl's hand, this time entwining her fingers with his own. It wasn't the first time they had held hands…

 _Kakashi sat by his tree, as he usually did on weekday evenings, and she was sitting beside him as she so often did a few times a week. Neither one of them had said anything to the other and neither one had so much as acknowledged the other's presence. This wasn't abnormal for them, they often sat in total silence without as much as a glance in the other's direction. Yet, on other occasions, they would talk for four or five hours without noticing the time slipping away. He had begun to consider her his best friend, although he probably wouldn't voice that to anyone. Not even her._

 _She was able to appreciate his lack of visible emotion and he was able to listen when her emotions took over. Without passing judgement, he helped her sort things out and understand them better, and she did the same for him. They balanced each other in their extremes. He was the calm and she was his storm._

 _He had just returned from a particularly grueling mission. One of his teammates had died and he was taking it very hard. He hadn't told Sakura about it, but most of the ninja in the village knew. She had sought him out by the tree and sat down beside him without a word. He was grateful for her presence and for her silence. She knew he wouldn't want to talk about it…not yet._

 _He felt cool fingers around his own and it was difficult not to pull back from the sensation. A pleasant tingly feeling shot up his arm from where her fingers made contact and he shuddered lightly, unsure about his body's reactions. Sakura had been affecting him more and more lately and he was beginning to feel…confused._

 _"I…" Kakashi began, "You…I just wanted to say that…"_

 _Sakura smiled sweetly at him, and he swore his heart skipped a beat. "I know."_

* * *

"Kakashi!"

A loud, mildly obnoxious voice woke Kakashi from his fitful sleep. He woke to find himself still clutching Sakura's hand and he released it quickly. He had been informed that a room was ready for him, but he just couldn't bring himself to walk away from Sakura. He felt so guilty about it all it just didn't feel right to leave her by herself. He guessed he must have fallen asleep by her bedside.

"Naruto," Kakashi nodded at the blond ninja.

"How's she doing?" Naruto asked, concern written clearly all over his face.

"They say she's stable for now, but she hasn't woken up yet," Kakashi frowned slightly, though it was probably not obvious due to his mask. "I'm worried about that head wound that she had. It was pretty bad. Looks like they've healed it up nicely, though."

"Ugh, I _hate_ that she has to be a stupid ninja," Naruto whined in his raspy tones. "Why couldn't she just settle down with Sasuke and have some kids and stay home with them? I'd feel a whole lot better."

Kakashi felt some ire rise in his throat at the mention of Sasuke and Sakura together. "That doesn't seem likely. It's been quite some time since there was a relationship there, I think."

Naruto gazed at Kakashi, eyebrows knit together. "Did she not tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Kakashi asked slowly, trying to hide his intense curiosity behind dull tones.

Naruto looked around conspiratorially even though there was no one around to hear and Sakura was still out cold. Motioning for Kakashi to come closer, Naruto whispered, "Sasuke proposed to her like, two weeks ago - completely out of the blue. Sakura said no, which I can't really blame her there, and Sasuke's been pouting ever since. I think he thought she would say yes, given their history and all. I don't think he's done trying."

Kakashi's head spun for a few moments. Sasuke had proposed to her? And she hadn't bothered to tell him? That seemed like the kind of thing she would have sought him out for. Usually, when she was truly distressed about something, she would just appear in his apartment, unable to wait for him to show up at their tree. He often walked out of his kitchen or bedroom to find the pink-haired kunoichi sitting on his couch, legs tucked under her body and arms hugging a lose cushion. Every time he would pretend to be startled, and warn her that one of these days she was going to get an eyeful of something she hadn't bargained for. He did it partly to make her laugh, and partly to see the blush that stained her cheeks so prettily.

The fact that she hadn't told him bothered him more than it should have, and the fact that Naruto knew all about it just added insult to injury. Now that he thought about it, Sakura had been a little more distant than usual over the past couple of weeks...had he upset her in some way? He hadn't seen much of her since she had blown him off at the pub a few Fridays ago, although she _had_ still somehow managed to pay for his drinks.

"I think she's keeping something from me, though," Naruto continued in a low voice. "I only found out about it when Sasuke told me, and when I confronted her it seemed like she was hiding something. She was pretty quiet about the whole deal which I thought was weird for her. She seemed upset and like she didn't want to talk about it so I didn't push her and just dropped it. Sasuke told me he thinks there is someone else, although I have no idea who that could be. I've never seen her interested in anybody but Sasuke, have you?"

A slight moan from Sakura grabbed both ninjas' attention, saving Kakshi from answering Naruto's question. Not saying a word but just leaning over the damaged kunoichi, Kakashi and Naruto held their breath, listening for a word from Sakura.

The girl sighed again, and mumbled sleepily, "Kakashi."

"Kakashi?" Naruto looked over at the silver-haired shinobi. "Why is she saying your name?"

"I wish I knew, Naruto," Kakashi sighed, "I wish I knew."

* * *

This time, Sakura knew she was dreaming. She was sitting high up on a tree branch…a branch on _their_ tree. Playing out below her was a memory from about two weeks ago…

 _They sat with their backs to each other, as they so often did. Kakashi reading his book in the dying light of the evening and Sakura gazing up at the stars that were just beginning to make an appearance. Her head was leaning slightly back on Kakashi's shoulder. This was their Friday night routine, as they both usually had a mission on Saturday. They liked to relax the night before, if only for a few hours._

 _"Kakashi?" Sakura asked quietly, so as not to disturb the mood._

 _"Hm?"_

 _"I wanted to tell you something," Sakura began slowly, intent on telling him about Sasuke's proposal and why she had turned him down…intent on tell him that it was their relationship with each other that made her realize she didn't want to marry Sasuke anymore._

 _She felt the silver-haired shinobi turn his head slightly, looking at her out of the corner of his single exposed eye. "Let's hear it."_

 _"I, well, I thought," Sakura swallowed audibly, all the courage she had had about her confession quickly draining from her body. "I thought you should know that…I think you're too slow to beat me to the pub for a drink. Loser buys."_

 _And with that, Sakura was gone in a flash, running away from Kakashi as she ran away from her fears, knowing without a doubt that Kakashi would beat her there._

 _He always did._

 _When she got to the pub, she saw that Kakashi had_ _indeed beaten her, but the situation she found him in caused her to stop silently in her tracks. A woman was leaned up against him, her hands around his neck and playing with the ends of his hair gently. She was blond and beautiful, and probably seven or eight years older than Sakura, much closer to Kakashi's own age._

 _Everything inside of Sakura told her to run up to Kakashi and rip them apart, to tell him that lately she had started to feel something more than friendship for him, and to banish that woman from the arms of her shinobi. But as she waited to see if Kakashi would push the woman away on his own, her resolve was broken. He didn't push her away, he simply stood there and let it happen. Kakashi had always been popular with the girls, but it had been quite some time since Sakura had actually seen him flirting. Usually he sat, perched at the counter, waiting for her to arrive and reminding her that drinks were on her…although he usually paid anyway. But now, he was at the back of the room with his back to her and his eyes obviously on the woman in front of him._

 _With drooping shoulders, Sakura handed some money to the bartender. "Kakashi's drinks are on me," Sakura mumbled. "I owe him."_

 _"You're not staying?" the man asked her. He was obviously accustomed to seeing them there together._

 _"Not this time," Sakura offered him a sad smile, and left without a second look at Kakashi. She truly hoped he would be happy._

 _Without her._

* * *

"Where is Sakura?"

Kakashi was woken by yet another loud and obnoxious voice, for the second time in two days. His eyes opened groggily to see the form of an over-eager, dark-haired ninja, practically bouncing with energy.

Kakashi frowned. "She's right in front of you, Lee."

"My darling, Sakura!" Rock Lee practically gushed, falling to his knees beside Sakura's bed. There were large and dramatic tears forming in his huge eyes. "How has this happened to you?" The young shinobi wailed.

"Don't worry, young Lee!" Kakashi turned to see Gai standing in the door way. "Sakura has the power of youth on her side! She will prevail!"

"You are right!" Lee said, standing up and pumping his fist into the air. "I have faith in Sakura's abilities, she will be alright!"

Kakashi frowned, yet again. "Why are you two here?"

Rock Lee immediately turned to face Kakashi. "When we received news of Sakura's terrible injury, nothing could stop me from coming to be at her side! Gai-sensei accompanied me to offer his undying support!

Also, I have decided it is time to remind Sakura of my unending love for her! Perhaps now that she has escaped death she will finally realize her true feelings for me!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at this. He was never one to put much stock into Lee's antics, but now that Sakura was involved, he was a little uncomfortable. She couldn't actually be interested in Lee, could she?

"Come on, Lee!" Gai cried out suddenly, "Let's go run a few laps around the village, what do you say?"

"I say yes, Gai-sensei! Let's go!"

Quicker than a flash, Kakashi was left alone with Sakura. He glanced out the window to see two green flashes headed towards the outskirts of the Sand Village, and he shook his head at their wild behavior.

"As if I could ever love him," Sakura snorted.

Kakashi sprang to his feet and was at Sakura's side in less than a second. "Sakura! Are you alright? You've been out for days."

"Well," Sakura grumbled, "aside from feeling like I've just been crushed by the Chief Toad, I guess I'm okay." Her gaze shifted to meet Kakashi's. "Are you okay? You were standing right next to me when that blast went off…"

"I'm fine, Sakura," Kakashi assured her, standing as close to her as he could without physically being on the bed. "I was barely injured at all."

Sakura closed her eyes and tilted her head back deeper into her pillow. "I'm pathetic."

"What?" Kakashi raised his eyebrows, he hadn't been expecting that. "No you're not. What do you mean?"

Sakura eyed him warily. She had been avoiding him lately and she wondered if he had noticed. She was usually so comfortable with him, but now she found her words caught in her throat.

She swallowed heavily. "I'm a medical-nin, Kakashi. I may not be as fast as you, but it's still my primary duty to dodge enemy attacks so that I am always available to heal my team. But still, I was unable to dodge that explosion, and you got away so easily. I failed at the one thing that I am supposed to be able to do. What if you had been hurt? Or Naruto? I wouldn't have been able to do anything because I was knocked out cold due to my inability to get out of the way fast enough. I'm useless. Just like I used to be."

"Sakura," she felt Kakashi take hold of her hand firmly, not letting go when she pulled away half-heartedly. "Listen to me. I have no idea why I wasn't hurt by that explosion, but I didn't see it coming either. I was just as close to it as you were and I was thrown away just as hard. I think there may have been something else at play there…maybe a jutsu that had been targeted at you and not me."

"You don't have to say that, Kakashi," Sakura sighed, hating how weak she sounded. At least it was just Kakashi in the room. He had seen her at her worst. "I know I failed. Tsunade will probably kill me for being so foolish."

"Sakura," Kakashi began slowly, "I-

The copy-nin was cut off by a scream from his pink-haired companion. "Sakura!" he exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and attempting to look into her eyes.

Immediately, the room was filled with healer-nin of the Sand, and Kakashi felt himself being pushed from the room by many sets of hands. He struggled to see around the sea of healers circling Sakura's bed. One of them had his hands on Sakura's chest, green light pulsing around the point of contact. The man looked up in a panic at his fellow healers. "I'm losing her!"

Kakashi's world stopped turning.

* * *

 **Woahhh sorry for the cliffy ;) Even reading over my own story and knowing that it is 100% fictional, I can't get over how cute the relationship between Kakashi and Sakura is. Just yum. It's at times like this I wish I could draw so I could make all the fan art I imagine about these two. xD**

 **Please, leave a review if you would. Let me know if you'd like to see more of this story! What are your thoughts on KakaSaku?**

 **Love, loony**


	2. Chapter 2

**MY APOPOLGIES! I feel like this chapter is rushed af, but maybe (hopefully) I'm wrong. Also, it is poorly edited because I didn't feel like reading the whole thing again. The reason for this potential rushiness is that I am leaving for vacation today! I'll be on a cruise which means either no wifi at all, or very bad wifi, so I may not be able to post while I'm gone (about 10 days). That being said, I'm going to write the next chapter while I'm gone so I should be able to post right when I get back! How does that sound?**

 **Anyway, I just had to get you guys another chapter before I left, so here you go! I hope you like it…I feel like it has a lot from Kakashi's point of view, which was sort of an accident, but I just went with it, so oh well.**

 **This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, but it's by no means "short", so I hope that's okay :)**

 **There are some cute KakaSaku moments below, so get reading! ;)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto (duh)**

* * *

 _Love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart_  
 _Like why are we here? And where do we go?_  
 _And how come it's so hard?_  
 _It's not always easy and_  
 _Sometimes life can be deceiving,_  
 _I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together._

 _\- Jack Johnson_

Chapter Two: Secrets

* * *

Sakura felt strong hands gripping her arms, though she couldn't see who was holding her. She reached up to find that she was blindfolded by something that felt suspiciously like a leaf shinobi headband. Calculating her options, Sakura prepared herself for a fight…if this bozo really thought he could beat her so easily, he was a fool.

Just as she was preparing to strike, Sakura froze. She felt warm breath grazing just across the edge of her jawline, and a quiet, masculine sound made her toes curl. This unknown man was quickly starting to feel less like an enemy and more like a lover. Sakura shook her head desperately, trying to distract herself from her body's involuntary reactions. This wasn't like her at all…this couldn't be real. She was usually so much more in control.

A hand slid up her waist and Sakura began to whimper. Why couldn't she break away? Was she being controlled by some jutsu? Come to think of it…how had she even gotten here? The last thing she remembered was talking to Kakashi in her hospital room, and then succumbing to the most blinding pain she had ever experienced.

Panic began to take over, and Sakura struggled futilely to move, but she couldn't stop herself from making a slightly pleasured noise when she felt a pair of lips crash into her own, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Against her better judgement, Sakura returned the kiss wholeheartedly, unable to stop herself from matching the unknown man in excitement and urgency.

"Sakura!"

A voice pulled her out of her reverie. The kissing had stopped, but she still couldn't see. Upon trial, she found that she could move her arms now, and slowly she reached up to rid herself of that pesky blindfold.

At first, the light was too bright and Sakura couldn't make out the man standing before her. He was tall, and appeared to be wearing the uniform of a Jōnin. Just as her vision started to fade, Sakura noticed the man's spiky silver hair…

"Kakashi?"

"No you doofus! It's Naruto! How're you feeling, Sakura-chan? You've been out for days!"

Sakura awoke to find her hyperactive blond friend leaning over her in her hospital bed, a look of concern obvious on his face. To Sakura, he hadn't changed at all in the nine or so years that she'd known him, but that was okay. Naruto was her constant, her solid ground, her unchanging friend. His bright yellow hair and electric blue eyes brought her a sense of calm, and she knew with him, she would always be safe, she would always be loved…and so her slight disappointment that it wasn't Kakashi that stood above her riddled her with guilt.

She forced a smile. "Naruto. What happened to me? I remember waking up and feeling fine, but then something happened and I…well all I remember is being in severe pain. And...hang on a second...are we back in the leaf village?"

"To be honest, Sakura, no one is really sure what the hell is going on," Naruto began, shifting uncomfortably beside the bed. "They seem to have decided that the bomb was a special jutsu that was directed at you, and that's why Kakashi got away with minimal damage. They also think that whatever that jutsu was could be causing these long term effects. And yeah, you were out for awhile. They used a medical transport team to get you back home."

Sakura winced. She did _not_ like the sound of that. She'd been out for that long? "And they don't have any leads on what it was?"

Naruto shook his head sadly.

Sakura braced herself. She hated to see Naruto like that, usually he was so happy and carefree. She didn't want to be the cause of his misery. "Well, we'll just have to figure it out, Naruto. Together…we can do this. I promise."

"That's right, Sakura-chan!" Naruto immediately brightened at Sakura's words. "I'll do everything I can, and you'll be right as rain in a few days! You can believe it!"

Sakura smiled cheekily at Naruto. "Hey, how's Hinata doing?"

Naruto's face paled dramatically. "Oh shit. Hinata! Er, sorry, Sakura-chan, I completely forgot that I was supposed to meet her like half an hour ago…I am _so_ dead."

Sakura chuckled. Still the same old Naruto… "Go on, get out of here."

Naruto swept in to kiss Sakura on the cheek, swiftly dodging her attempt to whack him on the head. "Bye, Sakura-chan! I'll be back later!"

Shaking her head at the blonde's antics, Sakura laid her head back into her pillow. She didn't want to admit it to Naruto, but she was not feeling very well. Her head was throbbing and every joint in her body ached like she was a hundred years old. She truly felt like she had been through the ringer.

"Not feeling well?" A deep voice read her mind.

Sakura blushed immediately, her dream rushing back to the front of her mind. "Kakashi! Damn, you startled me." Sakura tried to cover her blush by pulling her sheet up higher.

Kakashi smiled, as evidenced by the telltale squint of his eye. "Sorry, Sakura. But really, I take it you are still feeling poorly?"

Sakura sighed, not wishing to worry Kakashi but not wanting to lie to him either. "I feel…tired. My head is killing me and I feel like someone tried to rip my limbs off. Other than that, I'm fine," Sakura added sarcastically.

Kakashi's eye widened for a moment, but it resumed its natural shape so quickly Sakura thought she may have imagined the expression. "Well, I guess we'll just have to figure out what's wrong with you quickly then, hm?" He paused. "Of course, you managed to wake up when I was gone. I stayed here for like three days waiting on you to wake up, you jerk."

"I couldn't help it!" Sakura yelled, but she knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her. "Kakashi, could you please keep this from Naruto? At least for now. He's so happy, I'd hate to be the cause of more struggle for him. I'd honestly rather that he didn't know how I'm feeling…at least not yet. Maybe I'll even be able to figure out what's wrong on my own and he'll never even have to know."

Kakashi seemed to consider this. "You know, Naruto would be devastated if he knew you were keeping this from him. All he wants to do is help you. I'll keep your secret Sakura, but I suggest you don't hold Naruto off for too long…he might be able to help. We may need him, in fact."

"I know, just…give it some time. Maybe I won't even need to do anything. Maybe I'll just get better on my own," Sakura smiled bravely, locking eyes with Kakashi unexpectedly.

Surprisingly, he didn't break eye contact with her, and Sakura almost gasped when his fingers reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her left ear. It had been awhile since he had touched her like that, and she couldn't help but shudder lightly at the feeling. She had almost forgotten about the whole incident with the woman at the pub…

"Sakura…I…" Kakashi began slowly. He frowned, "I have some bad news. I have to leave on a mission in two days. It won't be a long one, I should only be gone a day. I just wanted to tell you that it isn't by choice. I'd much rather stay here and help you through whatever this is…but I can't. The Hokage assigned me to this mission herself."

The pink-haired kunoichi felt an uncomfortable dip in her stomach. He was leaving? "Oh…" she began, trying not to sound pathetic. She hadn't contemplated not having Kakashi around to help her through this. "That's fine. It's not like your life has to stop just because I got a little hurt, don't worry about it. I'll still be here when you get back." Sakura forced a second smile. "We haven't been spending as much time together lately, anyway, so it won't be all that weird."

Sakura hadn't meant that last comment to sound like an insult, but for a moment, it looked like Kakashi may have taken it as one. His eyebrow lowered over his eye and his shoulders seemed to slump a bit…even more than they were usually slumped, that is. "That's not by my choice, Sakura. I still sit at the tree most nights, but you never show up."

Sakura shifted slightly to look at him more fully. "I know."

Silence encompassed them for a few moments, and their eyes remained locked.

"If you tell me what I did to upset you, I'll try to fix it," Kakashi said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Or if I need to apologize for something…"

Sakura sighed. "No apology is necessary, Kakashi, I feel I may be…overreacting. Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have stopped coming to the tree. Believe me, being stuck in here really makes me regret not going there when I still could. I miss it."

She could feel Kakashi looking at her, still, his eyes unwavering. She stared at the ceiling, trying to keep the blush from creeping up her cheeks; she'd shown enough weakness in front of Kakashi today, that was for sure. "Will your mission be dangerous?"

Kakashi made an irritated sound in the back of his throat. Obviously still hung up on their previous conversation, he replied easily, "No, it should be pretty open and shut. You don't need to worry."

"Who said I was going to worry?" Sakura shot a lopsided grin at Kakashi, and she watched the stern creases in his face melt away slowly into a smile. "Will you come and see me before you leave, at least?"

"What a silly question." Kakashi was immediately on his feet and by the side of Sakura's bed. "While you may not worry about me, I will _always_ worry about you."

Just as Sakura was about to lose the battle against her cheek-staining blush, Kakashi vanished, leaving only a thin puff of smoke behind.

Sakura shook her head slowly at the wild beating of her heart.

* * *

Kakashi jumped from branch to branch, taking the "scenic" route from the medical building to his apartment. He had planned on staying with Sakura longer, but something had forced him away…and he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Walking up the steps to his apartment door, Kakashi began to regret having left the medical building…maybe he could've gotten the truth out of Sakura. It had been eating him up lately, although he'd never admit it, and he was seriously beginning to miss her company. His nights against the tree just weren't the same without her anymore. Without her scolding him about his dirty books, leaning against his back, touching his hand with those fingers…

"Kakashi," Genma greeted him.

Kicking his shoes off at the door, Kakashi glanced over lazily at the shinobi perched on his couch. It wasn't rare for Genma to show up in his apartment randomly, and Kakashi was never surprised by his presence.

"How's your girlfriend?" Genma questioned blandly, although there was a sparkle in his eyes. "She still mad at you?"

Kakashi mumbled something that included the words, "not", "girlfriend", and "bastard", but chose not to make himself clear. He knew there was nothing he could do to dissuade Genma from this line of conversation. Kakashi's relationship with Sakura was a topic of interest for Genma, and Kakashi knew it.

"If you just tell me about it, I might be able to help you figure out what happened," Genma prodded, trying to sound bored but failing miserably.

Kakashi glared, but rolled his eyes in resignation. Genma had been trying to get information out of him for weeks now and it was starting to get annoying. "I'm not sure what day it started, but she all of a sudden stopped showing up at our, well, our meeting place I guess you could call it. She usually stops by a few times a week, but she hasn't for the past two or three weeks. She hasn't come over here either. She was civil enough to me during our recent mission, but I could tell she was trying to hold me off." Kakashi shrugged, feeling suddenly like he had said far too much.

"Yeah, sounds like you pissed her off," Genma nodded decidedly. "Did you blow her off at any time, or maybe hit on someone in front of her? Women _really_ hate that, you know. And also, did you say she 'hasn't come over _here_ '? As in like she comes over to your apartment on a regular basis?"

"Uh," Kakashi did _not_ like this line of questioning. "One question at a time."

Genma rolled his eyes dramatically. "Okay, fine. Think back to when you first noticed that she was avoiding you. What had happened before that?"

"Well," Kakashi began slowly, trying to remember. "The first time she ever blew me off was probably two or three weeks ago. We were racing to the pub, and I beat her, per usual. But she never showed up. The weird part was, we had agreed that the loser would pay, and when I went up to settle my tab, the bartender said that my bill had already been paid."

"Sounds like maybe we should talk to the bartender then, hm?" Genma raised his eyebrows at Kakashi.

"Good point, although it was a while ago. He may not remember anything," Kakashi agreed.

Genma shrugged, "It's worth a shot. C'mon, let's go. I'd like a drink either way."

* * *

When Kakashi and Genma entered the pub, the bartender waved at them good-naturedly. The two shinobi were regulars, and so they knew the pub staff and frequent customers pretty well. Kakashi walked up to the bar and ordered a drink, trying to be polite, but Genma had other ideas. He shoved past Kakashi to get to the counter and immediately leaned across, the beaten wooden surface, motioning for the bartender to come closer.

"You know the girl that comes in with my pal Kakashi, here?" Genma asked, motioning to Kakashi, getting straight to the point.

The bartender scratched his head, squinting his eyes slightly. "You mean the pink-haired girl? I haven't seen her around here in a while, but yeah, I know who you're talking about. Seems sweet."

"Do you happen to remember a night when she paid for his drinks but didn't stick around?" Genma pried.

"Oh, yeah! I thought it was pretty weird that she didn't stay. She just ran in, spotted your friend here, gave me some money and left, pretty quickly at that," the bartender shrugged. "I figured she had some place to be."

"Why'd she leave?" Kakashi asked, unable to suppress his curiosity any longer.

"That I'm not too sure about," the older man behind the bar folded his arms, looking deep in thought. "I think you were at the back of the room with someone…a blond girl maybe?"

Kakashi's normal eye nearly bugged out of his head. "Oh shit."

"What, Kakashi? Who was she?" Genma asked, suspiciously.

Kakashi didn't know if he should feel relieved or incredibly annoyed. Sakura had been avoiding him because she thought he was hitting on some woman at the bar when they were supposed to be meeting. It all made so much sense.

The copy-nin sighed. "That _woman_ was a very drunken Uzumaki Naruto, showing me the latest edition of his 'sexy jutsu'. I was laughing so hard I didn't think I could move, so I just stood there while he hung all over me. That must've looked pretty bad to anyone watching…I didn't even consider the fact that Sakura may have seen."

Kakashi suddenly became very aware of the fact that Genma and the bartender were listening to him intently and it was very obvious that he was interested in Sakura. "Er, well, not that it matters. She obviously was just mad because she thought I was blowing her off or ignoring her."

"Yeah," Genma snorted saracastically, " _obviously._ "

"Come to think of it," the bartender spoke slowly, "she did seem pretty bummed out when she left. I was surprised that she didn't stay, she always does."

Kakashi decided the conversation had gone far enough, he'd gotten the information that he needed and he was practically itching to go explain himself to Sakura. He had no idea why the need to "clear his name" and tell her what had really happen was so great, but he knew he wouldn't be able to truly relax again until he'd had a chance to speak to her.

As he took his leave from the pub, absentmindedly telling Genma that he'd see him later, Kakashi considered the best way to explain the situation to Sakura. Should he just come out and tell her? Or would that be awkward? Maybe he could coax her to tell him herself and then he could explain…

Kakashi had never been one for going overboard in the feelings department, and the conversation that he was planning was threatening to seep into uncharted waters. What if Naruto's jutsu _wasn't_ what had upset Sakura? What if she was mad at him for some other reason that had nothing to do with jealousy? The copy-nin pondered his options. He considered Sakura's temperament. While her personality could be a little…explosive at times, Kakashi reasoned that Sakura would most likely want the truth from him, and that there could be no harm in telling her everything. Well, not _everything_ …

Kakashi hadn't really thought of Sakura as a woman until she was probably around seventeen years remembered the first time he'd thought of her as beautiful…

 _He hadn't seen Naruto or Sakura for months, as they had been away on an important and complicated mission, in a squad of shinobi hand-picked by the Hokage. Kakashi was intended to go with them, but he hadn't returned from a mission of his own before the squad was due to depart. The copy-nin usually wasn't inclined to worry, but the sheer length of their mission began to take its toll on him. After all, they'd been his students and then comrades for so long._

 _When he heard the news that the squad was back in the Leaf Village, but that they'd lost a few members, Kakashi had uncharacteristically raced to the gates, just a hint of worry tainting his mood. He trusted that Naruto and Sakura were more than capable of handling themselves…but still. He'd never forgive himself if one of them had been hurt or killed when he should have been there to protect them._

 _As he pushed through the small crowd welcoming the squad home, Kakashi saw a head of bright pink hair. He'd never been so relieved by a color in all his life. Her back was to him, but Kakashi had no doubt as to who he was looking at…especially since a taller, blonde boy was standing right by her side, with his hand casually placed on her back. Kakashi raised his eyebrows at this, usually Sakura wasn't a fan of physical contact from Naruto._

 _"That's enough of that," Sakura swatted Naruto's hand away, as if reading Kakashi's mind._

 _"I see you two haven't changed," Kakashi observed lazily behind them. He had no idea how incorrect his statement had been._

 _Sakura turned around to look at him, excitement evident in her eyes as she saw her former teacher. "Kakashi-sensei!" The girl sprang forward to give him a hug. When she stepped back, Kakashi fought to suppress a gasp._

 _Indeed, Sakura had changed quite a bit since the last time he'd seen her. She was taller, that was for sure, and her face had lost its childishness. Her skin was lightly tanned from her prolonged exposure to the sun, and a path of freckles had erupted across the bridge of her nose. The effect was charming…_

 _Kakashi cleared his throat, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make him sound like an oaf. "You don't have to call me sensei anymore, Sakura. We're equals now, remember?"_

 _Sakura chuckled. "It's kind of a hard habit to break, you know."_

 _Kakashi swallowed thickly as she looked up at him through her long, dark lashes. How had he never noticed how green her eyes were before? It was at that point he felt that it was imperative for him to remove himself from that situation. He was obviously…unwell. Or something._

 _"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto interrupted Kakashi's inner thoughts. "How are you? It's been so long! I have so much to tell you, where to even start? Hey, is Sasuke around too? C'mon, let's go get a drink."_

 _Kakashi barely had time to process what Naruto had said before he felt himself being dragged by the arm by the blonde-haired ninja. With a final glance backwards, Kakashi saw Sakura laughing, no doubt at Naruto and his hyper-active ways. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling._

 _Kakashi swallowed hard and looked away, quickly remembering that it was Sakura that he was so intently staring at. Looking ahead at Naruto, he allowed himself to be dragged away._

…

Kakashi smiled at the had received a lot of male attention since she returned from that trip, although through most of it she was dating Sasuke. The Uchiha had beat up more than one man interested in his girlfriend, and it was never pretty.

Kakashi remembered a time when he had seen such a beating…

 _"Sasuke, stop! He said he was sorry, just leave him alone!"_

 _Kakashi was walking with his head down, reading his favorite book, when he heard Sakura yelling. He turned the corner and walked towards the noise, not sure if it was wise for him to get involved or not. It was very dark outside, it was past midnight, and Kakashi could just make out the silhouettes of three figures. The shortest and smallest was definitely Sakura, and then there were two presumably male shapes. One was lying on the ground, arms head protectively over his head, the other was towering above him, his stance obviously menacing._

 _"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted again, this time stepping up to the standing man. It was dark and Kakashi couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he saw the standing man give her a little shove._

 _"Everybody alright?" Kakashi asked in his bored voice. He didn't mean to, just everything he said sounded…bland._

 _"This loser won't be," Sasuke growled._

 _"Kakashi, make him stop!" Sakura pleaded, looking up at him as he approached._

 _The copy-nin stared into her now visible green eyes and saw desperation. "Come on, Sasuke. Is this guy really worth your time?"_

 _Sasuke was visibly shaking with anger. "This_ guy _just spent an entire evening staring at my girlfriend, then proceeded to verbally harass her, and then thought it might be a good idea to threaten her, as if he could even touch her." There was a little bit of pride in Sasuke's eyes as he glanced over at Sakura, but that pride was quickly wiped out by hatred for the man at his feet. "This little pervert was even trying to look up her skirt."_

 _Kakashi considered his options. He now felt no sympathy for the man at Sasuke's feet and was quite on board with the whole "beat him senseless" plan. "Come on, Sakura," Kakashi decided. "Let's give these two some alone time."_

 _"But Kakashi!" Sakura's eyes widened and Kakashi wondered if it was a good idea to go somewhere alone with her._

 _"Trust me, Sakura, everyone will be fine."_

 _Sakura turned to the brooding Uchiha. "Do_ not _, kill this one."_

 _The copy-nin suppressed a giggle as the man on the ground started whining uncontrollably. Once they were out of earshot, he asked: "Has Sasuke ever really killed a man who hit on you?"_

 _Sakura snorted. "Of course not. I just like to put the fear of god into them, that's all. I don't need Sasuke to protect me like that, that guy wasn't a problem. I could've snapped him like a twig if I had to."_

 _Kakashi glanced sideways, deciding whether or not to comment on Sakura's freaky strength. He decided not saying anything was probably the best decision for his health._

 _The pair walked in silence for several minutes, finally winding up on Sakura's doorstep. "Do you want to come in for a drink or something?" Sakura asked Kakashi, looking over her shoulder at him._

 _"Uh," the copy-nin battled his inner conflict. Immediately, he thought to agree and go inside with her, but then visions of Sasuke's anger filled his mind. "Don't you think that might annoy Sasuke?"_

 _"Hm, you're probably right," Sakura looked a little deflated._

 _"I've got my book to go read anyway," Kakashi said, holding his well-loved copy of_ Makeout Paradise _up for her to see._

 _Sakura gagged, "You're such a perv, Kakashi." She rolled her eyes at him, but he caught the faintest hint of a smile as she shut the door._

* * *

Kakashi took his time getting to the medical building. He turned over many different ways to tell Sakura what had happened in his mind, finding himself dissatisfied with all of them. He'd finally decided just to wing it, hoping that maybe she'd bring the conversation up on her own. He just knew he had to tell her; for some reason, it was killing him that she thought he was with some random woman that night. He'd only wanted one woman for a long time now…

Just as Kakashi was about to appear inside her room to surprise her, he stopped. He was a few feet from the door. He felt another presence in the room with her, and after waiting a few moments, he heard voices.

"I don't like seeing you in here," Kakashi heard Sasuke's voice say slowly. "It's…worrying."

Sakura scoffed. "Oh boy, look at you using your big boy emotions. Give me a break, Sasuke. You've ignored me for months now."

There was silence for a few moments and Kakashi backed up to avoid being sensed by the two shinobi in the room, but not so far away that he couldn't hear what was being said.

"Why do you have to be like that all the time? I told you that I miss you."

Kakashi unconsciously grit his teeth. So Sasuke wanted her back?

"And I told you, I'm not putting myself through that again, Sasuke. You do this all the time. You say horrible things and break up with me, and then later you come back with sweet apologies and empty promises. Not to mention, proposals," Sakura mumbled that last part.

"That proposal still stands," Sasuke said coolly. "I think we were meant to be together. I truly think that you are the one meant to help me carry on the Uchiha name."

"How romantic," Sakura said sarcastically.

"I'll give you time, Sakura," Sasuke replied, "In the end, you always come home."

Kakashi heard Sasuke exit, presumably through the window, and contemplated whether or not he should go into Sakura's room. He really wanted to, but now he was confused. He turned to walk back down the hallway, not very excited about his decision to just go home.

* * *

Sakura looked around her room, she could've sworn she had just noticed Kakashi. It was this weird thing that she only had with him and Naruto, but whenever they were close by, she just knew. It came in handy on missions, that was for sure.

Sasuke had just left, thankfully, she had been dying for him to get out of her room so she could let Kakashi in. She'd sensed him about three minutes ago, and she wondered how much of their conversation he had heard. It didn't really matter…she had been planning on telling him about Sasuke's proposal anyway.

"Kakashi?" she called out experimentally, feeling like a complete idiot as she talked to her empty room.

When the silver-haired man didn't appear, she began to wonder if she'd imagined the whole thing.

"You called?"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. "What the hell?" She turned to find Kakashi smiling behind her. "How is it that I can sense you when you're twenty feet away, but when you pop up behind me like that, you still manage to scare me?"

Kakashi simply smiled some more. "I'm quick."

"I'm not sure that's something to brag about," Sakura mumbled, half joking and half annoyed that she had been so startled.

"Hey," Kakashi put a hand over his heart, faking offence. "That hurts."

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "I take it you heard the end of that conversation?"

Kakashi shifted his eye to the floor. "Yeah. I'm sorry Sakura, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop I just-"

Sakura held up a hand to stop him. "Don't worry. I'm actually glad you heard because I've been wanting to tell you, I just didn't know how."

"Really? You could've told me any time, Sakura, you know that," Kakashi told her, sitting down on top of the chair in the corner of the room, resting his feet where was _supposed_ to be sitting.

"I know," Sakura sighed. "I haven't told anyone, not even Naruto. Sasuke told him though, which really surprised me. Those two are closer than they let on, you know."

Kakashi only nodded, obviously waiting for Sakura to tell him the details.

Sitting back down on her bed and crossing her legs, Sakura looked out her window at the slowly appearing stars. "A little more than two weeks ago, actually, right before the night I stopped coming to the tree, he just randomly asked if I wanted to get married. I was so shocked I didn't even know what to say. He and I hadn't spoken in weeks.

After I realized that he was being serious, I told him no, obviously. He was pretty pissed, and we got into a huge fight. Apparently, he thought we had enough history that he could come back months after a break up and just ask me to marry him. He's an idiot. I don't even want to get married anymore."

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Kakashi began, "I'm sure that was unexpected…thank you for telling me. I'm glad that you did."

Sakura could tell that he wanted to ask her something, but he was obviously holding himself back. "What? Just ask, Kakashi. I'm not in the mood to hide anything tonight."

"Why have you been ignoring me?"

And there was the question. The question that she knew was coming but was dreading all the same. She sighed. "You're going to think I'm an idiot."

Kakashi shook his head firmly. "Never."

Sakura picked at her fingernails, refusing to look him in the eye. "That night when we were racing each other to the pub, I saw you in there with a girl. I guess I got mad because I thought you were blowing me off. All that stuff with Sasuke had just happened and then I felt rejected by my best friend. I'm sorry, there was no reason for me to leave and certainly no reason for me to ignore you after that. I was just…mad."

There. That was _almost_ the truth…just minus the whole blinding jealousy part.

"Ah," was all Kakashi said.

Sakura immediately regretted the whole thing. Why would she tell him that? He obviously thought she was crazy and possessive now. She shouldn't have called him her best friend, that probably freaked him out too.

Just as she was about to say something angry and kick Kakashi out of her room, the silver-haired ninja began chuckling.

Now he was just being mean. Was he really laughing at her?

"What?" she snapped at him.

Kakashi waved his hand at her. "I'm not laughing at you…it's just…that night, your other good friend, Naruto, decided it might be funny to test out his newly improved sexy jutsu."

Sakura felt her eyes go wide, a mixture of relief and extreme annoyance filling her chest. "Are you telling me that was Naruto?"

Kakashi had resumed his usual bored facial expression. "Yeah, that's what I'm telling you."

Sakura couldn't believe herself. She felt even dumber now than she had before. "Er, I'm sorry, Kakashi. You don't hate me, right?"

The copy-nin's face stayed stone-like. "Oh, I hate you."

Sakura couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but knowing Kakashi…

"Bullshit," she said confidently.

Kakashi nodded, "Oh, absolutely."

Sakura laughed at him and motioned for him to sit next to her on the bed. Not looking at him but feeling his weight shift the bed to her right, she laid her head on his shoulder and together they counted the stars through her window.

* * *

 **AW! I love them so much it hurts, haha *heart eyes***

 **Well, I'm off for my trip! Consider leaving me a review to read on the drive down to the port? :D Thanks so much for reading, you guys are the best!**

 **p.s. I know I am awful at replying to reviews, I'll try to do better this time. Just know that I read every single one and that all your kind words mean so much to me! It keeps me going.**

 **Love, loony**


	3. Chapter 3

From now on, author's notes will be at the end of chapters. For the most part. I think. Maybe? Also…not bold.

* * *

Chapter Three: Blood

Kakashi woke up warm. Shifting slightly, the copy-nin found that his left arm was trapped underneath something…or, maybe _someone_?

Peaking open his right eye slowly, Kakashi found himself staring up at a white-tiled ceiling. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, Kakashi turned his head slightly to the left…to find a pink-haired woman fast asleep on his shoulder. It occurred to him that it had been awhile since he had slept so soundly…before the more rational and morally obligated part of his brain took over and reminded him that it was _Sakura_ that he was currently snuggled up with, and such thoughts weren't _appropriate._

The events of the night before played back in his mind, and Kakashi realized that he and Sakura must have fallen asleep after talking so late. He was surprised that the kunoichi was sleeping so deeply, as they were both laying horizontally across the bed with their legs dangling over the edge at the knees. Of course, she was much shorter than he was and so she had quite a bit less leg to dangle. He reasoned that made her more comfortable.

She was breathing softly, and Kakashi took advantage of the stillness to just watch her sleep. The realization that this might make him a pervert made him uncomfortable, and he grimaced as the aforementioned "moral obligation" crept back into the picture. Unwelcomed bastard.

He just…he had no idea what to make of their relationship, but obviously falling asleep in each other's arms had to mean something. Right? He thought so, at least. Although, he had thought the same thing the first time they had fallen asleep together, and Sakura hadn't seemed to have been affected by it at all…

 _The night air ruffled Kakashi's hair as he felt a familiar form lean gently against his back. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply; he'd been hoping that she would show up tonight. He didn't know why, and he decided that it probably wasn't a good idea to look too deeply into his motives, so he simply settled with the facts. He wanted Sakura there and that was that._

 _They had both just returned from two separate - although equally difficult – missions, and they were both on the edge of complete exhaustion. It had been a month and seventeen days since he had seen her. Not that he was keeping count or anything. As a matter of fact, he really had no idea how he knew that number. He just…did._

 _It wasn't long before Sakura's fingers found his own and lightly began to intertwine with his. She always initiated when they held hands, but neither of them minded. Well, Kakashi certainly didn't mind, and Sakura never seemed put-out about it, at least. Kakashi knew that she knew that he enjoyed it, and they both knew that Sakura was the more forward of the two when it came to showing any kind of physical affection. Besides, Sakura held hands with Naruto, too. It couldn't mean that much._

 _He didn't know when it happened, but at some point, the pair had shifted to lying side by side on their backs, gazing up at the soft glow of the stars._

 _"Kakashi?" Sakura mumbled sleepily._

 _"Hm?" was the only sound Kakashi could make in his sleep-deprived state, as he looked lazily over to see the green-eyed kunoichi staring at him curiously…and there was something else there too, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was._

 _Sakura stared at him for a brief moment, eyes full of questions, lips slight parted…a look Kakashi had become rather found of, as of late. She was always itching to learn, to know._

 _He could tell she was on the verge of saying something…maybe even something important, judging by the look on her face._

 _"I…I'm tired," Sakura finally sighed, seemingly abandoning her original statement. She settled her head against his shoulder, and before Kakashi could spend much time wondering what she was going to say, he was fast asleep._

* * *

Sakura woke, but kept her eyes closed as she felt someone shift next to her. Trying to maintain her blank, sleeping facial expression, Sakura tried to remember the night before and rationalize why someone would be sleeping in her hospital bed with her.

Quickly, she was reminded of star-gazing and talking with Kakashi late into the night, and she reasoned that they must've fallen asleep by accident. Well, maybe it wasn't _entirely_ an accident, but she would never admit that. Sakura tried to suppress a smile as she remembered the most recent time that they had _accidentally_ fallen asleep together…

 _Sakura was curled up in the corner of Kakashi's couch, "her spot" as Kakashi liked to call it, sipping a warm cup of tea and blinking with heavy lids. "I better get going," she said for the hundredth time, never once having meant it._

 _"Not so fast," Kakashi clicked his tongue, hoping down from the back of the chair on which he had been perched. "You promised me you were going to tell me about the time that Naruto drunkenly told Sasuke off about being a bad boyfriend."_

 _"Ah, yes," Sakura sighed, feigning annoyance when she was really glad to have an excuse to stay comfortably nestled into the couch. "I guess I did promise. But you have to promise me something in return, Kakashi-sensei."_

 _"Within reason, Sakura-chan," Kakashi looked at her intensely, but with just a hint of teasing. Sakura fought a blush and looked away quickly, startled by her body's reaction to the man. These "reactions" were very foreign to Sakura…how many times had she sat on Kakashi's couch while he teased her? Too many times to count. But now, his words had a different effect on her and she couldn't decide if she liked it._

 _Sakura covered her momentary loss of control with a chuckle. "Just don't tell Naruto, okay? He really might kill me."_

 _"Oh, that's all? That's easy. Consider yourself promised," Kakashi's eye closed as he smiled. "Although, other than myself, of course, I don't think there is anyone in the world more concerned for your safety than Naruto, so I'm not exactly fearful for your life in this situation."_

 _Sakura barely registered the end of Kakashi's sentence. He had just told her he cared about her so very casually…he'd been saying it for years, of course, but it had always been under the context of fellow shinobis, and before that, of teacher and student. Now it was…different._

 _"Alright there, Sakura?" the copy-nin asked her carefully, adjusting his mask carefully as he spoke._

 _Sakura shook her head, "Yeah, sorry, I just zoned out for a second there. I'm exhausted because my jackass ex-teacher is making me tell him bedtime stories at this ungodly hour."_

 _"That's me," the eye crinkle returned, "Heartthrob and jackass extraordinaire."_

 _"You certainly think a lot of yourself, I don't remember calling you a heartthrob," Sakura barely suppressed a snort._

 _"Well, I seem to remember hearing you say, and I quote, "my jackass, heartthrob, ex-teacher…"_

 _"Do you want to hear the story or not?"_

 _"Sorry."_

 _Sakura huffed, trying to hide her smile at the man's antics. "So, Naruto and I were at his place with Hinata, Lee, and Shikamaru. Sasuke too, obviously. Anyway, everyone was a little but tipsy, except for Naruto, who was, unsurprisingly, absolutely hammered. Sasuke had just avoided my kiss – he was never big on PDA – and I guess Naruto saw it, because next thing I knew, he was screaming at Sasuke, carrying on about how stupid he was and how he was crazy for not letting me kiss him. Then Naruto screams: 'If you were my boyfriend, I would've dumped you ages ago!' and Sasuke goes: 'As if I wouldn't have already dumped your obnoxious ass!'"_

 _Tears of mirth had now formed in Sakura's eyes and were threatening to spill over onto her rosy cheeks. "And the Shikamaru said: 'Well, I guess we all know now why Sasuke won't let Sakura kiss him. Sounds like he's gay – I guess for Naruto'."_

 _Sakura was nearly out of breath from laughter as she finished the story. "All Sasuke could do for the rest of the night was fume and try to prove his masculine attraction to me…until he got pissed at me for laughing and he went home. It was pretty hilarious all-in-all."_

 _The pink-haired kunoichi turned her head to the side to smile at Kakashi and to see his reaction to her story, the one he had been begging her to tell all day. She found him much closer than she had been expecting, and she jumped slightly at the shock. Tsunade would be so proud of her alertness…_

 _Shaking off her surprise, Sakura realized Kakashi was just staring at her, one hand on his mask as if he were about to pull it down. He did that a lot, and Sakura reminded herself again that she was going to have to ask him about that. At the very least she would scold him for it; it wasn't fair to tease her like that._

 _Her uneasiness grew as he continued to just stare at her. His eye was slightly crinkled from laughter, but behind that laughter there was something more. Something…sad, maybe?_

 _"What?" Sakura asked, her laughter dying slowly but surely. Talk about a mood killer._

 _After a few more seconds of silence that was beginning to border on awkward, Kakashi finally spoke. "Nothing." He looked away towards the kitchen, "More tea?" The question was asked absently as if he wasn't all that interested in her answer._

 _"I've still got a full cup, but thanks anyway." Sakura furrowed her brow, what was up with him all of a sudden? "Come on, Kakashi, what's up? I thought you wanted to hear that story, and now you're acting like you don't even care. I know you better than that."_

 _The copy-nin had turned towards her at the sound of his name. "Hearing about how Sasuke treated you bothers me," he said the words quickly, honestly, and she knew that explaining his feelings to her was difficult for him. "You know I care about Sasuke, and I try to just accept him how he is. But when it comes to you? He's annoying as hell."_

 _Sakura twisted quickly, so that she was lying down with her head on Kakashi's knee, looking up at him. "It was my own fault, Kakashi. No, he wasn't a good boyfriend, but he was never abusive or anything and I could've left him much sooner than I did. And even though it may not seem like it…he did love me, at least for a time. I actually think I fell out of love before he did. I just didn't realize."_

 _Kakashi's hand had raised absently and was playing with the hem of the sleeve of her t-shirt, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sakura's eyes began to grow heavy, and after several minutes of silence she accepted the fact that she probably wasn't going to get a response._

 _Her final thought before falling asleep was how they must've looked so like a couple._

"Am I crushing your arm?" Sakura asked sleepily.

"No," the all-too-familiar voice of sleepy-Kakashi replied. Sleepy-Kakashi sounded a lot like regular-old-lazy-Kakashi, just a little bit gravellier.

"How did we even fall asleep like this?" Sakura mumbled, never really sure how to act when they woke up together like this. Over the years she had become very comfortable with the boys, including Kakashi, and she had fallen asleep with all of them on more than one occasion. She and Naruto had an easy relationship and nothing had ever felt strange about passing out on the couch together, and she and Sasuke and been…well, _she and Sasuke._ And up until recently, falling asleep in the same area as Kakashi had been completely normal. But all of a sudden…all of a sudden it was different and _intimate_ and she wasn't really sure when that had happened.

Kakashi sighed. "How do we ever? I'd say this is a hell of a lot more comfortable than falling asleep on those tree roots you seem to be so found of."

"True," Sakura nodded, summoning the willpower to sit up and away from the warm man lying beside her. As she did so, she asked, "Do you have any idea when they'll let me out of here?"

"Probably soon if you don't have any more episodes of the pain. They're worried that they could be long-term effects of the jutsu you were hit with by that Mist ninja," Kakashi attempted to hide his scowl unsuccessfully, not even his mask could save him.

"Quit making faces," Sakura threw a pillow at him as he walked across the room. Predictably, Kakashi was much too fast to be hit and appeared behind Sakura just as the pillow hit the wall with an unimpressive _thud_.

"Bastard," Sakura mumbled, folding her arms.

"Good morning to you, too," Kakashi said from somewhere behind her, and although she couldn't see him, she could her the smile in his words. "Unfortunately, I've got to take off to go to my mission briefing, but I'll be back some time before I leave tomorrow."

Sakura turned to see him give her a lazy two finger salute before disappearing through the open window.

Sakura shook her head, "Damn Shinobi."

* * *

Each time he fell asleep with her, he swore he wouldn't do it again. True, he was completely comfortable with Sakura, but surely, falling asleep together was frowned upon. Right? It had to be.

His interactions with Sakura were always perfectly innocent, a little harmless bantering some _might_ call flirting, but still innocent nonetheless.

He had gotten to the point where he stopped questioning where his and Sakura's closeness had come from and just went with it. It used to surprise him a bit when she would go out of her way to see him, and it surprised him even more when he found himself doing the same. The first time he showed up on her doorstep with take-out and a cheesy smile he wasn't even sure how he had gotten there, but, as stated, he went with it.

He was close with Naruto and Sasuke too, but not in the same way. When he wanted someone to talk to, he sure as hell didn't seek out the hyperactive Naruto or the broody Sasuke. No, he found himself on Sakura's couch, half the time not even talking but comforted in the fact that if he _wanted_ to talk he _could_. And she always respected his wishes, whether he had something to say or he just wanted to be quiet. She never pushed him, and that was something that was important to him.

Sakura, on the other hand, was usually eager to discuss her problems, and Kakashi patiently listened to every rant, offering comforting words when necessary, other times offering to kick someone's ass…although he knew she was perfectly capable on her own. Hell, she was downright _scary_ at times and he was constantly reminding himself _not_ to get on that girl's bad side.

He was thankful for that aspect of their relationship, and he couldn't deny that it was something he shared only with Sakura. He wasn't one for talking _feelings_ much…but it was still nice to know that there was someone there to listen, should the need arise.

"Geez, Kakashi-sensei, would you watch where you're going?"

Upon seeing the offended party, Kakashi smiled god naturedly. "Ah, sorry, Naruto. Didn't see you there."

"Wow, sensei, you must be getting old," Naruto laughed mercilessly, "Eyesight already going out on you?"

Casually lifting his headband to expose his sharingan, Kakashi replied meekly, "I'd say it's alright."

Naruto turned away immediately. "Hey! Point that thing somewhere else, will ya?"

"Play nice and I will," Kakashi smiled again, replacing his headband securely over his eye.

"Hm, whatever," Naruto huffed, irritably. "Where are you going, anyway? Isn't it a little early for you to be awake, Kakashi-sensei? It's not even _noon_."

Kakashi simply offered Naruto an eye crinkling smile and a two-fingered salute before disappearing into a puff of smoke. He hadn't known why he'd just left Naruto there, but as he walked down the halls to Tsunade-sama's office, he quickly forgot about the knuckle-headed ninja. Not surprising.

"Ah, Kakashi, you're certainly… _less_ late than usual. Any special occasion, or you're just feeling more responsible today?" the Hokage laced her fingers together and eyed the copy-ninja over them.

Kakashi raised a hand to rub his neck good-naturedly. "Me? Late? I don't recall-"

"Save it, Hatake," Tsunade shook her head, although Kakashi swore he heard her laughing as she turned to look out the window.

* * *

"Yes, but how are you _feeling_?" Ino asked for the one hundredth time that morning.

"I'm…fine, honestly. I've felt fine since yesterday afternoon. I just want to get out of here, you know? Well, not out of here, out of here, since I work here a lot, but you know what I mean," Sakura sighed. "Go use your feminine wiles and convince someone to let me out of here."

Ino laughed at this. "While I do love to employ my skills of seduction whenever possible, I don't think it would be particularly helpful here. Just…sleep twenty-four seven until you're better and the time will fly."

Sakura frowned at her friend. "Two flaws there. For starters, I'm not tired. Secondly, what does _better_ even mean in this situation? I've looked at my chart…everything seems fine. Although, I still think they should've tested me for foreign substances and poisons, but it's unlikely anyway. Just looking at the numbers, I'm perfectly healthy and I shouldn't even _be_ here."

No sooner than the words left her mouth, a sharp pain in Sakura's side caused her to cry out. The pain was blinding, quite _literally_ blinding, and Sakura found her vision fading quickly as she heard Ino yelling for someone, _anyone_. As her vision abandoned her completely, Sakura had the sinking feeling that something about this time was different.

* * *

It was hard to startle Hatake Kakashi, really it was. He'd more or less seen it all and you couldn't exactly sneak up on the man. Sakura often complained about his 'supernatural-hearing'. It had been quite some time since he had been surprised in any way…and so the shock her felt upon seeing the sight before him was unexpected and unwelcome.

Her room was swarming with medics, and as soon as he saw that Tsunade-sama was there too, he feared the worst. Kakashi felt like he couldn't move as he watched the mayhem unfold before him. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Sakura as she was surrounded by so many medical ninja, all doing _something_ to her that he couldn't see properly.

"Where are those test results?" Tsunade's voice barked out, and Kakashi could tell by her tone that this was _not_ good. He attributed the hammering of his heart to worry about his teammate and friend and nothing more than that.

"We'll talk about why they weren't done _immediately_ later."

Kakashi almost flinched at the harshness of the Hokage's words, and he surmised that someone must've royally fucked up. The thought that the reason that Sakura was still injured could be one of the medic's faults did make something in his gut twist, though. After Tsunade was done with the guilty party, he wouldn't mind having a moment or two alone with them to-

"Tsunade-sama!" A young, female medical ninja came sprinting into the room, a small stack of papers clutched firmly to her chest. "You were right! It's poison!"

 _Poison_. Kakashi had to grip the doorframe to maintain his balance, as the room had started spinning dangerously. Kakashi was no medic, that much was for sure, but he knew that it had been several days and that was very _bad_ when it came to poison. Was it too late to give her the antidote? _Was_ there even an antidote? What would he-

"Kakashi!"

The man looked up at the sound of his name, meeting the stony eyes of the Hokage upon doing so. He didn't speak.

Tsunade walked towards him swiftly, "Come with me." She turned to the other medics in the room, a look of sheer menace on her face. "Do _not_ leave her side. I'll be back with an antidote in less than thirty minutes," she paused. "And, you better keep her alive…or I can't guarantee the actions of Uzumaki Naruto. He'll probably kill you all, and I won't stop him."

Kakashi felt himself being dragged down the hallway, away from the room, away from _Sakura._ "Tsunade-sama, wait, I want to see-"

Tsunade silenced him with a wave of her hand and a grim look. "No, Hatake, you don't."

Kakashi had never been so terrified by words in all his life. "What do you mean?"

"She's…bleeding. Quite profusely," Tsunade's mouth was set in a stern line and Kakashi could tell she was struggling to keep her emotions in check. "It can't be stopped."

"Bleeding from where?" Kakashi was confused, he hadn't seen any wounds on her when he had seen her earlier that very same day.

"Everywhere. Eyes, mouth, ears, nose, pores. It's…grisly. The medics are trying to replenish her blood supply so she doesn't bleed out…as would appear is the point of this particular poison. The fact that it has taken so long to work is a testament to Sakura's strength. Each time she had one of her pain episodes, the poison was trying to take effect and start the bleeding, but she was able to suppress it with chakra." The Hokage's stern façade dropped for a moment, "I guess this time it was too much for her to take. The only thing keeping her alive is the fact that there are about ten medics in there to work on keeping enough blood in her body."

He suddenly found it hard to keep up with the Hokage as they ran down the hallway, towards the lab Kakashi assumed. His legs felt like rubber and his arms felt like stone and his brain felt like mush and the only thing he could think to ask was, "Is she going to die?"

The amount of time it took for the blond woman to answer him was _very_ disconcerting.

"Not if I can help it."

* * *

Blinding light woke Sakura. She blinked her eyes a few times, willing the whiteness to clear, but it never did. She looked around, trying not to let herself worry yet. She wasn't sure what she was standing on, but it was soft and pillowy and white and _oh gods_ was it clouds?

"Cool, right? A distinctive voice asked.

Sakura's head whipped around immediately, already knowing the answer as she asked, "Jiraiya-senpai?"

"The one and only!" And there he was, standing in front of her, glowing like an angel and seemingly alive.

Alive. _Wait._

"Oh damn it all to hell," Sakura felt her eyes grow wide. "Did I just…die?"

Jiraiya's face took on a solemn expression. "Uh, about that…"

"Aw, man! Naruto's _so_ gonna kill me." Sakura shook her head. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Jiraiya nodded, "I do. But hey, maybe you're not really dead, you could just be visiting. It's happened before, at least I think it has. It's hard to tell what really goes on up here."

Sakura didn't know if she was dead or not, but she was starting to lose hope after she had read copies of _Paradise, Tactics,_ and _Violence_ that Jiraiya had leant her, in addition to a new, never before seen addition to the series that he had written in the afterlife. She smiled thinking of Kakashi's expression when she told him.

 _Kakashi_. _If_ she ever told him. At this point, she was starting to fear that she really _was_ dead. It had been hours and hours, maybe even days since she had woken up here, although she couldn't tell if time was really a _thing_ in this realm.

"Don't worry, Sakura," Jiraiya was suddenly behind her, patting her shoulder. "I think you're going to be alright."

"How do you know?"

Jiraiya waved a hand at the cloudy floor beneath him, and the white puffs shifted away from a small opening forming at the middle. "Look."

Sakura peered down the hole, and gasped. She saw herself, lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to about a million tubes and wires…but she was _breathing_ and thanks to the steady rhythm of the monitor, she could tell her heart was beating.

"It's probably time you got home," Jiraiya smiled. "Tell Naruto I say hello, will you?"

"Of course, Jiraiya-senpai," Sakura nodded. "But…what about you? Don't you get lonely here all by yourself?"

Jiraiya's smile widened and he shook his head at the kunoichi. "Nah, I get visitors, and other…more _permanent_ guests. Plus, I have all the free time to write that I want. I'm fine."

Waving good-naturedly, Jiraiya used his other hand to shove her into the hole he had created, and Sakura found that she didn't have the strength to stop him. She was falling, falling, falling, and when she looked up, Jiraiya was gone.

* * *

She sat up abruptly with a sharp gasp, heart beating wildly and senses on overdrive. Immediately, she regretted this, as the migraine she received as punishment for her actions was _not_ at all welcome. "Ugh," Sakura groaned hoarsely, "What the fu-"

"Sakura!"

She was only _slightly_ put out that the voice didn't belong to Kakashi, although she had no idea why. Maybe she'd hit her head.

"Naruto?" Sakura rubbed her eyes, "What the hell is going on? Am I actually alive or is this another one of those weird limbo things?"

"You're alive! She's alive! Did you hear, Kakashi-sensei? She's alive!" Sakura cracked open her eyes to see Naruto dancing happily around the room, twirling and jumping and looking absolutely like a five-year old girl.

A tentative hand on her shoulder forced her gaze to shift sideways, and she found herself looking into the very concerned eyes of none other than the copy-ninja. She held his gaze for a few moments, and he opened his mouth, or so it appeared (pesky mask), as if to say something.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto grabbed her shoulders, obviously _trying_ to be gentle but failing miserably. "You freaked me out!" He pulled her close and kissed her right on the lips, an offense she would've punished with a fight to the death had she been feeling up to it.

Instead, she settled for a glare and a very weak pinch of his nose.

"I've got to go tell everyone! Ino's outside freaking out, they wouldn't let her in…well, I mean _everyone_ is freaking out but mostly Ino. I'll be right back!" Naruto disappeared out the door with speed only a ninja could muster, and Sakura couldn't help but smile just a little.

She turned back to Kakashi, planning on asking him what he had been wanting to say, and was surprised to see him sitting in the chair beside her bed, hands covering his face. He looked…defeated, almost. Tired.

"Geez, are you that bummed out that I'm alive?" Sakura tried to ask jokingly, but it just came out kind of pathetic, seeing as how her voice kind of sounded like a frog.

And then it happened. He was next to her and he was _hugging_ her and he never hugged her and he was hugging her. "Shut up," he mumbled into her hair, not looking at her.

And shut up she did.

* * *

Kakashi didn't go on that mission. Tsunade had assigned someone else and he had sat in Sakura's hospital room for three days straight, never once leaving. Naruto was there almost as frequently, and surprisingly, so was Sai. The boy might not be good at emotions, but he realized that what was happening was important and he seemed to know he would not like if Sakura wasn't around. The only missing member of her team had been Sasuke. He never once visited and it was soon discovered that he had left the village all together. Typical Sasuke.

She had looked so frail those three days. She had always been small, but she had somehow looked _smaller_ and the blood loss made her pale and it all made Kakashi sick to his stomach.

He was now sitting on his own bed, after she had shooed him from her room, assuring him that she was fine and that he needed to go home and get some rest and that he could come back tomorrow. Yet, here he was, in his own bed and most certainly not resting. Icha Icha laid forgotten in front of him, and now that Sakura seemed to be getting better, the guilt was really setting in.

This should never have happened. He should've seen it coming, he should've moved her out of the way. Now she was bedridden, maybe for weeks, and he couldn't shake the feeling that it was all his fault.

A knock at his door startled him from his self-pity. Furrowing his brow and pulling his mask back up over his mouth, he wondered who it could be, as most of his visitors, (namely Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Genma), didn't bother knocking.

He opened the door to an angry looking Hokage.

"Before I let you in, is this anger directed at me, or some other poor soul?" Kakashi tried to smile.

"I thought you could help me decide on the punishment for the medics who nearly killed Sakura due to their startling inattention to detail."

A genuine smile lifted Kakashi's lips this time. "Come right in."

* * *

A/N:

!) I want to let everyone know that I LOVE YOU ALL AND I WILL START APPLYING TO REVIEWS I SWEAR ON MY LIFE.

) Secondly, I've made some decision about this story, and they are as follows:

!) I'm gonna be writing Sasuke out somehow. I'm sad I've included him in this and honestly, I just want him gone. na na na na boo boo.

) This is not going to be an angsty story. Why? Two reasons. For one, I just don't think they would have an angsty relationship. It's just not _them_. I save all my angst for my Dramione and my GaaSaku...mwahahaha. Reason two? Because I said so. So there. Again I say: na na na na boo boo.

#) Sai is going to kind of "replace" Sasuke. I'm still so mad that I wrote that stupid Uchiha into this story...grumble.

#) I just want you all to know that, while it may not have seemed that way, that hug was supposed to be a BIG deal for Kakashi. He never initiates physical contact in the way of affection like that. At least in my mind, for this story. So I just want to make it clear that that scene was supposed to be sweet and display how worried he really was.

$) Lastly, I apologize because I'm sure this chapter sucks. I just wanted to get it up and I didn't even bother to edit it because I am so LAZY and also because I have to go to work, so please feel free to point out any errors, be they grammatical or plot-based.

Leave me a review? Maybe I'll repay you with some cute (and or sexy) Kakashi moments next chapter? (Yes, it's a bribe. No, I'm not proud.)

Love, loony


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: In which the Apartment is Clean and Sakura is Drunk

* * *

Being discharged from the hospital was, quite possibly, the best feeling in the world. As Sakura strolled out the double doors into the glorious sunshine, she found herself grinning like a fool and giddy beyond belief. It had been three horrible weeks of bedrest under careful supervision to make sure the poison was gone, and Sakura was well and truly ready to enjoy a night in her own bed. Her own, _wonderful_ bed.

As angry as she was that a panel testing for poison in her system was overlooked, she felt a little sorry for the medics responsible. She knew that Tsunade wouldn't go easy on the ninja who almost let her apprentice die right under their noses. When it came to Sakura, the Godaime went from intimidating to downright terrifying. Sakura wouldn't lie, it felt pretty phenomenal to have not only the Hokage, but one of the legendary Sanin, in her corner.

The pink-haired kunoichi had been sent home with strict instructions from said Sanin to take it easy, and was told that she wouldn't be receiving any missions for at least a week. This last part had miffed her quite a bit, because she was really feeling fine, _honest_.

Between Tsunade and Kakashi, though, she knew there was no getting around it. The two of them were quite the pair when it came to making sure that Sakura was okay after this whole ordeal, and the rosette medic had been surprised to see them walking and talking together on several occasions in the last few weeks. She chuckled out loud as the thought of a secret relationship between Tsunade and Kakashi occurred to her.

"Forehead!"

Sakura felt Ino before she saw her, as she was nearly bowled over in a hug (read: tackle).

"Ino!" came Sakura's muffled yelp, half excited to see her friend, half begging for said friend to stop crushing her ribs.

"Oh my gods!" Ino was clutching her shoulders now, gazing at her happily with her obscenely bright blue eyes. "I thought you were a goner! Everyone was so worried, Forehead!"

Sakura offered her friend a grin. "It's not so easy to take me down, don't you have any faith in me, Ino- _pig_?"

The blond girl smacked Sakura on the arm good-naturedly, sticking her tongue out and crinkling her features into a playful sneer. "We all want to celebrate you finally getting out of that damned hospital! A few of the guys are leaving on missions tomorrow, so it has to be tonight! What do you say?"

"Er, I don't know, Ino," Sakura began slowly, not wanting to be a party pooper. "I'm still pretty tired and I-"

"Okay, you seem to think I was giving you an _option_. Allow me to rephrase," Ino rolled her eyes melodramatically, "We are celebrating the fact that you are finally out of the hospital tonight. I'll swing by around eight tonight to pick you up. See ya tonight!" Ino blew a kiss right in Sakura's face and went skipping off in the opposite direction before the pink-haired woman had a chance to say anything.

Sakura walked the last few blocks to her apartment quickly, hoping to avoid another run in with someone before she could get home. She was just itching to get her windows open to air the place out…the place would be stale as hell. She unlocked her door and pushed it open, and then did what any other jōnin would do when they sensed a threat. She aimlessly threw a kunai, tripped over her own feet, and all but face planted into the floor. The strangely _clean_ floor…

"It is often surprising to me how you can be a ninja and still be so clumsy," a familiar voice said honestly.

Sakura sat up, rubbing her head slightly. "Sai?'

The aforementioned party stepped out of the kitchen, wearing a pink, floral apron and lime green oven minutes. "Sai, did you let Naruto dress you up again?"

"No, he didn't!" the blond came barreling out of the kitchen. "He's making you something and he insisted on wearing the 'proper baking uniform'. I tried to tell him, honestly I did." The Uzumaki pick Sakura straight up off the floor and nearly crushed her in a hug. "I missed you so much, Sakura-chan! It's been so _boring_ around here without you?"

"Around here?" Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Have you guys been staying here?"

"Ah, about that," Naruto began, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "We both ran out of food and so we figured since you wouldn't be eating yours we'd just come over here for a couple of days…hehe. You don't want us to starve, do you?"

Sakura tried to scowl but the giddy look on Naruto's face told her that she was failing miserably. Deciding to ignore that admission entirely, Sakura asked, "Did you guys…clean in here?"  
Naruto nodded proudly.

"It was my idea," Sai piped up from the kitchen doorway.

"Shut-up, Sai," Naruto grumbled over his shoulder, "Was not."

Sai looked decidedly put out at this, and Sakura laughed a little as she walked over to pat him on the head, a gesture that was always greatly appreciated by the pale man-child. "Thank you, Sai. I really appreciate this."

Sai beamed. "Thank you, Sakura-chan."

"I guess I'm willing to forgive you for calling me clumsy," Sakura winked at him.

Sai frowned and looked perplexed. "That was…offensive?"

"Oh, Sai," Sakura pinched his cheek lightly, declining to answer his question. "I didn't realize how much I've missed you. Now, what is it that you're making for me?"

* * *

What Sai was making for her, was apparently an edible work of art. It was a cake, on which he had used edible colors to paint cherry blossoms. While she couldn't help but chuckle a little at his use of cherry blossoms (typical), she couldn't deny that it was absolutely beautiful. It didn't look like something that should be eaten, it looked like something that ought to be framed and hung on the living room wall.

"Aw, Sai, this was very sweet of you," Sakura smiled happily at the man. She was always quick to encourage him when he did something nice or thoughtful, a few years ago this idea never would have occurred to him. While he still struggled greatly with feelings and emotion, he had progressed a long way, and Sakura couldn't be more proud of him.

"You are welcome, Sakura-chan," Sai bowed slightly in her direction, stripping off his 'proper baking outfit.' "Dickless! Let's go spar somewhere. Kakashi told me that Sakura would probably want some time alone when she got home and told me to make you leave." Sai went trailing into the other room to find Naruto.

"Aw, c'mon, Sai, she just got home!"

There was shuffling and the sounds of a physical argument, but Sakura just ignored these noises ans they had become incredibly commonplace to her. She went about rearranging the dishes the boys had put away until she heard, "I'll see you tonight, Sakura-chan!" and the slamming of her front door.

Sakura stiffened immediately. She still sensed someone else's presence. Without the boys' there to distract her, she could really feel it. She frowned," Kakashi-sensei?"

"You realize you shouldn't call me sensei, right? You're a jōnin too, you know," Kakashi spoke lazily, waltzing into the kitchen with his nose buried in _Paradise._

Sakura laughed. "Can you believe the boys actually _cleaned_ in here? They're two of the messiest people I know."

Kakashi's eye squinted at her in a smile. "They care about you, and they both know you like to keep it clean in here. Plus, I dropped by the other day, and between Naruto's empty food containers and Sai's discarded drawings everywhere, it pretty much looked like a landfill in here. They didn't really have much choice. They're smart enough not to risk their lives with you."

Sakura rolled her eyes and chuckled behind the back of her hand. "Still, I'm a little surprised. Not that I'm not grateful, I am."

The copy-nin didn't respond. He was now seated at her kitchen table, nose buried in his book with his feet propped on the chair across from him.

"Did you just come here to read at my table instead of your own?" Sakura eyed the man curiously. He did this often, just dropping by to read on her couch or look out her window, and Sakura surmised that maybe he was just looking for company. He wasn't much of a talker, that was for sure, but he did seem to enjoy sitting with her.

She earned a nod in response.

"If I talk, can you at least pretend to listen?"

Kakashi nodded again, "Fire away."

"Ino is going to drag me out to hang out with everyone tonight because they want to celebrate my recovery," Sakura explained, pushing herself up to sit on her kitchen counter. "I feel bad, because I know I should want to go and see everyone, but lately I've just been feeling… _blah_ , about all that. I swear, sometimes I think I'm actually older than you."

"I'd appreciate if you don't use the word "old" in a sentence when talking about me," Kakashi deadpanned, not looking up from his book.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the man. "I still don't see how you've read that book so many times, Kakashi-senpai. I barely made it through it once." Well, technically twice, but he didn't need to know that.

 _That_ got his attention. "What?"

Huh, she must've never mentioned that… "Kakashi, if you don't think Naruto, Sasuke, and I read those books back when we were kids, you're more naïve than I thought."

"You've read the Icha Icha books? All of them?" the man was now openly staring at her, obviously dumbfounded. Sakura almost felt bad for him.

"Uh, yeah," Sakura laughed, this was much more amusing than she had anticipated. "Are you really that surprised? We saw our sensei reading them every day. I discouraged the boys at first, obviously, but eventually, curiosity won out and I gave in. I can't say I was impressed."

"Are you actually telling me, the man you know holds these books closer than any friend he's ever had, that you didn't think they were any _good_?"

"You expect me to say that they are when you just openly admitted you like those books more than me?" Sakura laughed loudly at the copy-nin. He was ridiculous.

Kakashi scowled. "Touché. But you know that's not really true."

"Isn't it?" Sakura eyed him with interest. "Don't worry about my feelings, after years of being second to Sasuke and Naruto, I don't mind being second place behind a pornographic book series all that much."

Sakura regretted her words immediately when she saw the slightly dejected look on Kakashi's face. The whole 'Kakashi-sensei liked Sasuke and Naruto better than Sakura' thing was kind of a sore subject for the man, and while Sakura had moved on enough to know that things were different know, Kakashi still seemed to feel a little bad about it. "I'm sorry. You know I don't care anymore. It's all in the past."

Kakashi pretended to not have heard her. "Hm?" was all he said. He had gone back to reading his book, his expression perfectly bored again.

Sakura turned her head away and smiled. Things were finally getting back to normal.

* * *

"Didn't you say that Ino was dragging you away to hang out?" Kakashi asked, looking up from his book. He'd lost track of time, and now he looked up to the clock to see that it was already six-thirty.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed from beside him on the couch. She was laying down with her legs propped up on the back of the couch, painting her toenails in a position that Kakashi could only describe as 'uncomfortable'. "But not until eight o'clock. I still have some freedom left."

"Since when do you not like going out with your friends?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, staring at the same page he'd been staring at for the past hour.

"Mah, I've gotten old, Kakashi," Sakura snickered at him, "Sometimes these get togethers are just a bit… _much_. That's all."

Kakashi snapped his book closed at that one. "If you're old than I must be some sort of ancient relic."

Sakura sat up and looked at him intently. He was confused when she stood up right in front of him, looking at him like she'd never seen him before, and slowly reached out a finger to poke him in the slightly exposed area of his cheek.

"Hm," she thought allowed, "I would've thought that you'd be crumbling to dust at this point."

Sakura earned a whack on top of the head with his book for that, and he received a seriously painful pinch to his right arm. Grabbing the closest weapon he could find, Kakashi promptly whacked her in the face with a pillow.

Naturally, an all-out pillow fight ensued. Ah, _maturity._ He couldn't help but smile a little bit at Sakura's tears of laughter as she dodged his attacks, retaliating with attacks that he would then dodge as well.

He was poised to deliver a particularly good shot to the side of her head when a loud knock at the door spoiled all the fun. Eye-contact was made, awkward smiles were shared, and pillows were tossed back onto their respective furniture. He sat back down on the couch and pretended to read while watching to see who was at the door.

"Ino? I thought you said eight?" Sakura whined upon opening the front door.

"I _did_ ," Ino leaned through the door, "But since you've taken up after your old sensei in the whole 'late to everything' department, I decided to drop by and make sure that you're getting ready." Ino looked her over cynically. "Seems it was a good idea on my part. You don't even have any makeup on yet!"

Woah. Kakashi's ears perked up a little bit. _That_ was no makeup? He wasn't exactly an expert when it came to the stuff, he just knew that women used it to make themselves look better and that most of the time, it seemed to look good. He had to stop himself from making the comment that maybe she shouldn't put makeup on at all because she looked nice as is. This, he decided, would be a bad idea, because Ino was here and who knows what the town's biggest gossip would do with a statement like that? Not to mention, he wasn't sure what Sakura would think of a comment like that and he wasn't really sure why he felt the need to say it in the first place.

"Hey, Kakashi-senpai," Ino grinned at him as she walked through the door. "So I see you're the cause of her tardiness this time. Big surprise."

"She's not late yet," he shrugged, not looking up from his book. He still wasn't actually reading, but appearances needed to be kept up.

Ino laughed out loud. "Sakura, you have a man more than ten years older than you reading porn on your couch. Some people might call that strange."

"Yeah? Well I call it natural," Sakura laughed alongside Ino. "To be honest, it'd be stranger for me if he wasn't sitting there."

Kakashi crinkled his eye at them as they disappeared into Sakura's room, not wanting to admit the effect her words had had on him. She wanted him there? He had always hoped that was the case, and that it wasn't just him who enjoyed the company.

He smiled and went back to reading, this time for real.

* * *

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?" Ino asked in a barely contained whisper. "You can tell me, Forehead, I won't judge you!"

"No! And be quiet, Ino. His hearing is pretty much inhuman!" Sakura scolded her friend.

"But you guys are _always_ together. And he's over here all the time! I swear half the time I stop over, he's already here and sitting on your couch," Ino continued, and Sakura could tell she was really fishing.

"Yeah, and the other half of the time it's Naruto and sometimes Sai, and you don't say anything about them," Sakura pointed out, although she knew it was weak.

Ino scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. First of all, there's no way in hell that you'd date Naruto, plus he's got Hinata. And Sai? Gods love him, but dating him would sort of be like dating a very artistic tree."

Sakura couldn't help but snort at that last part. "Trust me, Ino. Nothing is going on. We're just friends. Like you and Chouji or you and Shikamaru are just friends."

"Yeah but this is different! This is Kakashi, the guy that people don't see for sometimes weeks at a time, and then we find out that he's just been bouncing between his place and your place. I think it's pretty obvious that he's into you, Sakura," Ino continued. "He _voluntarily_ spends time with you. Knowing him, don't you think that seems a bit odd? Not to mention, he was your teacher and he's quite a bit older than you, which is _totally_ hot, by the way."

"What should I do with my hair?"

"Don't you try to change the subject."

"Up or down?"

"Sakura I swear."

Sakura turned a pleading look to her friend. "Please?"

Ino rolled her eyes. Sakura's puppy dog face was well known across Konoha for its effectiveness. "Ugh, fine. Turn around and I'll do your hair for you. But you're not getting out of this. I _will_ continue to pry."

Sakura smiled at the wall in front of her and reminded herself to thank Pakkun again for teaching her those killer puppy eyes.

* * *

Okay, maybe makeup wasn't so bad. Sakura came out of her room looking like some sort of goddess and it took all Kakashi had not to choke on his tea and ask "you're going out like _that_?" She had on itty bitty shorts and some sort of strappy tank top thing. He knew it was hot outside, but _geez_. If she wasn't a fully capable kunoichi, he'd be worried about her having to defend herself against wandering hands.

He did his best to maintain a bored expression as his eyes wandered back down to his book. Real subtle there, Kakashi.

"It's probably pointless for me to ask if you want to come out with us tonight, hm Kakashi-senpai?" Ino asked, batting her lashes goofily at the man.

"While I'd love to join you, it's absolutely imperative I get to the end of this chapter tonight. I'm afraid my health demands it," Kakashi explained, squeezing his eye in a smile at the girls.

"Whatever," Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh! If you want to invite the ninken over, I made them some treats. They're on the kitchen counter in the cookie jar."

Kakashi laughed. "You're going to spoil them so much that they're going to want to live with you, you know."

"That's okay," came Sakura's reply from halfway out the door. "You know I wouldn't mind!"

Kakashi shook his head with vigor upon hearing the door slam shut. He'd seen Sakura dressed that way a thousand times before, why had he reacted like that? He thought this over as he casually bit his thumb to summon his dogs.

"Yo. Sup, Kakashi?" Pakkun's lazy voice came from atop Bull's head.

"Sakura made you guys some treats. She said they're in the kitchen in the cookie jar."

What happened next was a pathetic, mad dash to the kitchen, paws flying everywhere. He then heard Pakkun shout, "Everybody, calm _down_! You'll all get one – hey! Stop shoving! Bisuke!"

"If you boys don't calm down, I'll tell Sakura," Kakashi said simply, not bothering to raise his voice.

The silence was suddenly deafening.

Kakashi smiled.

* * *

"Oh. My. Gods! Sakura!" Ino practically gushed as soon as they were a few steps away from Sakura's apartment.

The pink-haired kunoichi cast a sideways glance at her. "Do I even want to know?"

"Oh, don't pretend you didn't notice!"

Sakura stared at the Yamanaka blankly. "What?"

"You are _so d_ ense! Did you not see the way his eyes, or, er, his _eye_ , I guess, nearly popped out of his head when he saw you?" Ino was practically squealing with delight. "He so loves you!"

"Woah there," Sakura ignored the slight racing of her heart upon hearing Ino's words. "Even if he did seem…impressed, or whatever, that doesn't by any means mean he loves me. I'm honestly not entirely sure Kakashi can _have_ romantic feelings. He's too… _Kakashi._ "

"Oh, wonderful excuse, Sakura. Absolutely brilliant. Your mind is really right up there with Shikamaru's isn't it?" Ino snickered.

Sakura scowled slightly. "You know what I mean."

"I'd be willing to take a bet on this. Kakashi will declare his love for you before the year ends," the blond nodded her head confidently. "Loser buys dinner for a week."

"Oh, I absolutely take that bet," Sakura grinned. "Although, one stipulation. It has to be _romantic_ love. If he says it platonically, it doesn't count."

"Fine," Ino sniffed. "I'll still win, _Forehead._ "

"Ino-pig," Sakura grumbled.

* * *

Sakura had forgotten what it was like to be drunk.

She was pretty good at handling her drinks, (much better than Naruto, who was absolutely wasted by drink number four), but once she hit her limit, she was hammered. While seven drinks had her tipsy, eight drinks had her stumbling around muttering nonsense, and there was no in between.

Before the dreaded drink number eight, Sakura had actually been having fun. They had set up a bonfire just outside the training grounds, and everyone was talking and laughing. Even Shikamaru was in a great mood all evening, which had nothing to do with the fact that he'd spent most of the day with a blond kunoichi of the Sand, nothing at all.

Rock Lee had declared his undying love for Sakura _again_ and Sakura had smiled and kissed his cheek, patting him on the head as she did so. That had been just after drink number seven.

Sakura was a contemplative drunk and she hated it. Once everyone was good and truly wasted, she was leaning against a log, gazing forlornly up at the sky. What sounded like a dozen different conversations were going on around her, and the noise quickly made her angry. She was also a very _irritable_ drunk.

She was thinking about Sasuke and about how he wasn't there and about how he should've been there and did she w _ant_ him there? That was a dangerous prospect. She wished she could have fun like her drunk friends, she wished she was arguing with Ino about Kakashi or picking on Sai and his dulled senses. And although all these things sounded appealing to Sakura, all she could do was stare at the sky, caught up in her own repetitive thoughts. _This_ , she reminded herself, was why she didn't get drunk. She was damn depressing. Luckily, everyone else always forgot about her behavior the next day.

 _Where's Sasuke? What's Sasuke doing? Does Sasuke love me? Did Sasuke ever love me?_

Every time Sakura thought she was over what had happened between her and the Uchiha, drunk Sakura came stumbling in to remind her that she wasn't. She didn't love him anymore, he couldn't give her the chills with one look like he used to, but there was still so much history there and now he wanted to marry her.

Was she stupid to say no? It's what she had wanted forever, and now that he was offering it to her, she was turning him down. In fact, she had turned him down without a second thought. As soon as the words had left his mouth, Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had almost laughed out loud, but had enough respect for Sasuke to hold back. Laughing at a man for proposing couldn't do any favors for his ego. In fact, it might even make her a bitch.

She hadn't even realized she was walking home until she reached out to open her front door. About half of the crew had fallen asleep around the campfire, those being Naruto, Sai, Hinata, TenTen, and Chouji. The rest had done as Sakura had and absentmindedly stumbled away.

Too drunk to fit her key into the lock, Sakura used her inhuman strength to wrench the door open. She'd worry about that tomorrow.

"Out late I see," a voice startled her.

Sakura's hand flew to her chest and she felt her heart hammering against her palm. "It's not polite to startle a drunk person you know," she slurred, kicking her shoes off clumsily as she stumbled into the living room.

"You're drunk?" She now saw Kakashi…well, a very w _avy_ version of Kakashi, sitting where he had been when she left.

Sakura held her pointer finger up in the air, very aware of how ridiculous she must look but unable to control herself. "Very."

"Hm," was all Kakashi said as he rose from the couch, stretching as he stood. "Want some tea? I'm going to make some tea."

Sakura frowned and flopped onto the couch, feeling something soft and furry below her elbow. "Whoops! I'm _sorry_ , Pakkun. I didn't see you there."

A very disgruntled pair of eyes rose to meet hers, and the ninken blinked at her as though she had woken him up. "S'ok, Sakura-chan. Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, never better, Pakkun," Sakura laid down and let her head hang off the seat off the couch, hoisting her legs up against the edge and over the back. She felt decidedly twelve years old again and she let out a stupid and girlish giggle. Her smile was quickly replaced by a frown.

Pakkun sniffed her head. "You smell upset. Somethin' on your mind, girly?"

Sakura sighed. "Just Sasuke."

There was a crash from the kitchen.

Sakura sat up quickly, giving herself an incredibly extreme head rush in the process, "You okay, sensei?"

The ninja in question poked his head out of the kitchen, his eye squeezed in a smile and his hand offering a lazy thumbs up. "Just clumsy, all is well." He disappeared again.

"You're not thinkin' of gettin' back together with the guy, are you Sakura? I know it's not my place, but I always thought you were too good for him and honestly, he's kind of a dick."

Sakura laughed out loud and clapped a hand over her mouth, her reactions all exaggerated by her drunken state. "Oh hell no! No, I just get all sad and thoughtful when I'm drunk and I can't help but wonder if he ever so much as _liked_ me. I think about all the time I wasted and I wonder if I did something wrong." Sakura frowned, she was decidedly less happy than she had been a few minutes ago. "I wonder where he is right now and if I was stupid for telling him no when he asked me to marry him. Was I stupid, Pakkun?"

"Not in the slightest. You're way out of his league anyway," the dog said gruffly, leaning into Sakura had as she rubbed his ears lazily.

Sakura laughed again, too loudly to be sure, but she wasn't in a state to care. "You shouldn't say that, Pakkun. Even though I don't love him anymore, I have enough honesty to admit that Sasuke's pretty gorgeous. I may look okay when I decided to put some extra effort into myself, but I," Sakura held her finger up in that stupid way again, "am decidedly average. Except for the hair," she added on as an afterthought.

Before Pakkun could answer her, Kakashi reentered the room, handing her a steaming mug of tea as he sat down beside her, with Pakkun between them.

"You should drink that," Kakashi said, motioning to the cup in her hands.

Sakura nodded and took a sip…and promptly slammed the cup down spilling tea everywhere. "Hot, hot, hot!" she complained, sticking her tongue out and rubbing it with her palm.

Kakashi simply raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright, Sakura?"

The pink-haired woman groaned. "No, I hate being drunk. Is it time to be sober yet?"

"Most people your age like being drunk," Kakashi pointed out.

"I'm not like most people my age," Sakura grumbled. "I just get all sad when I drink too much and it's no _fun_."

"Mm," was all Kakashi said in response, and Sakura found herself searching his face for some hint of emotion. Nothing. This annoyed her even more than it usually would due to her drunkenness.

"Do you remember when Sasuke tried to kill me?" the thought occurred to Sakura randomly.

The copy-nin grimaced. "Which time?"

Sakura laughed at that, even though she knew she really shouldn't. She just couldn't help it. "Good point. I just…how could I love a person like that? He wanted me to _die_ ," Sakura put extra emphasis on the last word, widening her eyes to prove her point. Gods, she was drunk.

"People do crazy things when they're in love, Sakura," Kakashi was looking away from her now. "You were blinded by it. It doesn't mean you were stupid. You cared for him so much that you were willing to look past your own safety in an all-out effort to save him. I've always respected you for that."

Sakura frowned. "You have?"

Kakashi glanced at her sideways, nodding his head. "After he tried to kill you, I was a little more…frustrated by your feelings. But still, I respected your resolve to protect him."

The medic-nin nodded her head thoughtfully. "I think," she began, "I think…" her eyes widened. "I think it might be time to throw up."

With that, Sakura fled for the bathroom, too drunk to be embarrassed when she noisily emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

* * *

She'd drunkenly asked him to stay, and after a moment's consideration, and some puppy eyes from both her and Pakkun (who was snuggled comfortably in Sakura's lap), he had agreed, albeit begrudgingly. It wasn't like he hadn't fallen asleep in her apartment before, but it was usually one of those _accidents_ and never because she'd asked him to. He almost felt like he was taking advantage of her drunkenness somehow, even though they were on opposite ends of the couch and she had passed out half an hour ago.

He contemplated leaving. She probably wouldn't even remember asking him to stay come morning, right? Just as he was shifting to sit up, a hand reached out and grabbed his ankle.

"Nice try," Sakura's voice was slightly slurred as she spoke. "Pakkun, help me make sure Kakashi stays true to his word, hm?"

"You got it, girly," Pakkun shot Kakashi an annoyed look.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kakashi all but whined. "You're taking her side?"

"That's right," the ninken sighed, closing his eyes and snuggling up to Sakura. "She's the one with the treats."

"I give you treats too," Kakashi grumbled irritably.

The only response he received was the sound of soft snores from the girl and _his_ dog.

Typical.

* * *

*Woah, WOAH. I actually kind of like this chapter. Who even knew that was possible? I know that nothing huge really happens, but honestly I just love writing Kakashi and Sakura together, even if they're just talking. And Sai? I swear, there's no one more fun to write.

**You're probably wondering where the plot is. I've launched an investigation, but unfortunately, it hasn't turned up yet. I'll let you know if I come across it.

***Stellar plot or no, I _can_ tell you that there is a mission coming up for our two favorite ninja, and undoubtedly, some fluff as well. Stay tuned.

****And maybe an _almost_ kiss or two.

*****What?

******I don't want to rush it.

*******Like I said, this won't be a super angsty story. While I definitely think KakaSaku could be written with some angst, (for example, if you focus on Kakashi's deep and guilty feelings about wanting his decade+ younger ex-student), but I'm not going to do that. Worry not, there will definitely be some denial on both sides, but hopefully nothing super out of character.

********IMPORTANT! I found a massive, gaping plot hole in chapter 2, in which at some point, Sakura had magically gone from being in the Sand Village's hospital to the Leaf Village's. Pretty much a major oversight on my part and exactly what I get for not rereading my chapters. From now on, I'll be making sure to edit things before I post them. What a drag.

*********Lastly, I'm going to be done with the flashbacks, I think. They were really just there to give you an idea of Sakura and Kakashi's relationship, and now that that's been established, I'd rather focus on the present. I may use one every now and then, but for the most part, they're retired. You served well, flashbacks. At ease.

**********LASTLY, lastly (and most importantly), I love you all so much! Thank you for reading my story thus far, and if you read all these notes, you're a real trooper. Go you! Reward yourself and go and watch some anime.

Next time…shirtless Kakashi? Maybe… ;)

Review, pretty please? *Pakkun puppy dog eyes*


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: In Which Everything is Everywhere

Loud groaning woke him from his sleep.

Kakashi was usually an incredibly light sleeper, the slightest sound or the quietest whisper would have him jolting wide awake, fully alert. This was one of the many reasons he didn't get even close to enough sleep at night. The other reason was raging insomnia, but that's a story for another time.

This morning, he was startled to find that he had not only slept through Sakura rolling off the couch and running (noisily, according to Pakkun), to the bathroom, but also through the sounds of her projectile vomiting (also noisily, same source).

Sakura stumbled around the corner, looking like she'd been tumbled in a clothes drier for a couple of hours. He pink hair somewhat resembled a bird's nest, some of it stuck to the right side of her face and the rest of it tangled in painful looking knots around her head. There were dark circles under her eyes and her face was much paler than usual. She somehow looked smaller.

She groaned again and covered her face with both hands. "Ugh, Kakashi. I'm _so_ sorry. You really don't need to see this mess. Feel free to leave while I have my hideous face hidden."

"Mah, I can put up with a little hangover as long as you're willing to make some breakfast or something."

Sakura scowled at this, uncovering her face and shooting him a dirty frown. "Fine. I guess I owe it to you for forcing you to put up with my drunken-self last night. Hold on, I'm going to take a shower really quick, then I'll make your stupid pancakes."

As he heard the water start, Kakashi leaned further back into the cushions. If he could count on anything, it was that Sakura took obscenely long showers. Pulling out his book and petting Pakkun idly, he settled in for a potentially long wait for his morning meal.

* * *

"Not to bring up a sore subject, but Sasuke is still gone," the blond boy kicked a stone into the water in front of them. "The only reason that I'm bringing it up is because people are starting to get suspicious. I mean, he doesn't have the best reputation around here, and we all know what happened the first time he disappeared."

Sakura sighed wearily. "He's an idiot, really. He's got to know how stupid this is. It's just a matter of time before the Hokage sends a squad out looking for him. She doesn't trust him."

Naruto snorted. "I can't blame her. You know how she is when it comes to anyone who has hurt Konoha…or more importantly, you."

"You're kidding, right?" Sakura actually laughed at this. While she knew that Tsunade cared for her a great deal, that seemed a little ridiculous. "She'd never send out a squad to apprehend him on my behalf. Tsunade isn't really one to show affection, like…ever."

She caught a skeptical glance from her hyperactive friend. "Mhm, okay Sakura. Whatever you say."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Naruto!" Sakura threw a rock at him, which bounced off his head with a loud (and slightly hollow sounding) _thunk_.

"Ow! Jerk," Naruto mumbled, rubbing his head dramatically. "Well, you can't be blind to the fact that you have Tsunade-baachan wrapped around your little finger. And Kakashi-sensei too. They'd both do practically anything for you."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I guess that's what I get for being the smartest and best from Team Seven."

"Hey!"

* * *

She hadn't had a good mission in _months,_ so when Shikamaru lazily told her that the Hokage was looking for her and mumbled something about _top secret_ and _very dangerous_ , Sakura practically leapt over the Nara to get to the Hokage Tower. While peace was nice in some respects, it was also terribly boring at times, and in Sakura's opinion, a little danger and violence never hurt anybody.

Bounding across the rooftops like only a ninja could, Sakura spotted Kakashi's white head bent over a book as he was walking down the street, and she somersaulted off of the building she was perched on to land gracefully by his side.

Without so much as flinching or even looking up from his book, her former teacher chuckled a little and said: "Good morning, Sakura-chan."

"Kakashi- _sensei_ ," she drawled mockingly, knowing full-well it annoyed him when she did that. She was in a terribly good mood, and a good mood in Haruno Sakura meant being unashamedly ornery.

He looked at her pointedly over the edge of his book, but declined to respond, simply shrugging and returning to reading.

"Ignoring me won't do anything to put a damper on my mood, Kakashi," Sakura laughed at the man, knowing that he expected her to be upset that he hadn't reacted to her teasing. "I am impossibly happy."

She grinned as Kakashi cracked a smile at this and heard his book snap shut. "Dare I ask the cause of this giddiness?"

"Hokage-sama is finally giving me a mission worth my time, it's been months since I've done anything worth-while, you know."

"Mission, you say?" Kakashi tilted his head towards her. "Me too."

Sakura clapped her hands together, her excitement only building. "Do you think we're assigned to the same mission? I mean, if I was going to get a second I was already going to request you, but it'd be great if we were already assigned together."

"Well, we best be on our way to find out," Kakashi pocketed his book and they fell into step together, Sakura skipping the whole way.

* * *

"Sakura-sensei!"

Kakashi couldn't believe his ears. _What_ had that kid just called Sakura? _Sensei_?

"Sakura-sensei! Wait up! I need…" the child gasped for breath as she skidded to a stop in front of the pink-haired kunoichi. "I need to ask you something, please."

Sakura laughed and bent down to see the genin at eye level. "What is it, Madoka-chan?"

"I know you're probably busy, but can you please just show me how to do the minor burn healing again? I burnt my finger on the stove," the little girl held up a red, swollen finger.

Sakura spent the next five minutes sitting with the genin, instructing her on how to heal her finger and cautioning her to be more careful around the stove. The child left with a wave and a "bye Sakura-sensei!" and Kakashi was left with a mix of feelings he couldn't decipher.

Sakura stood up and brushed her knees off, blushing a little when she met his eyes. Or eye, rather. "What?" she asked, obviously trying to sound nonchalant.

"Sakura- _sensei_?" Kakashi queried, unable to keep his eyebrows from shooting up. He usually wasn't one to show his surprise, but this was just completely _too much_.

Sakura's blush deepened to a bright red and Kakashi mentally scolded himself for thinking it was _adorable_. Ex-teacher. Ex-student. Inappropriate. "I told them that they didn't have to call me that, but there's no dissuading them."

" _Them_?" Just what had Sakura been up to these past few months?

Sakura coughed. "Uh, Tsunade's been having me teach a group of genin who are interested in becoming medic-nins at the hospital twice a week." She shrugged in an effort to be nonchalant. "It's really not a big deal. It's pretty exciting how many of them there are, though. It'll definitely be nice to have that many medics someday."

"How many of them are there?"

"About fifteen."

Kakashi stared blankly, coming to a complete stop. There were fifteen, _fifteen_ , little genin running around calling the girl, or rather, the woman in front of him, Sakura- _sensei._ She was sensei to a whole group of children.

"It's not polite to stare, you know," Sakura was practically snickering at him, suddenly looking much less mature than she had only moments before.

"I just can't believe it, that's all," the copy-nin resumed his walk toward the Hokage tower, and heard Sakura fall back into step beside him.

"What? That I, a nineteen year old jonin has a crew of genin calling her sensei? Yeah, Kakashi, that's positively unheard of, I can't believe it!" while her words were wholly sarcastic, Sakura still managed to sound sweet. It didn't make the mockery sting any less though, and Kakashi used that fact to justify the well placed flick he bestowed upon her forehead.

"Oh! You're a nasty old man, you know that?" she asked, rubbing her forehead with her petite fingers. "Oh boy, look at me! I'm ridiculously fast and can flip my unsuspecting friends on their foreheads for no apparent reason!"

Kakashi chuckled. These were the moments when he remembered why Sakura had become his favorite.

* * *

Sakura stomped her foot like a child, feeling little to no shame. "Shishou, I thought this was supposed to be a _dangerous_ mission."

The Hokage folded her fingers underneath her chin. "I just said that to get you in here. It may not be overly dangerous, but it _is_ important…which is why I personally selected you and Kakashi for this mission. Our client specifically requested Jonin, and she's paying A-rank price for what is much more like a C-rank mission. We don't want to risk messing this up. You just have to escort this woman and her daughter back to their home in the Land of Waves. Apparently, her daughter suffers from some sort of post-traumatic stress due to some incident in her childhood. The family is wealthy, so in order to make the girl feel at ease, they requested two skillful ninja to escort them."

Sakura grumbled, outwardly pouting and not bothering to hide her frustration. She glanced over at Kakashi, to find him looking completely at ease, if not happy, with what the Hokage had just said. "Are you actually okay with this?" The question came out sharper than she had meant for it to, but hell, she was pissed.

The copy ninja just shrugged. "All I heard was good pay for an easy mission. I'll take that any day."

"See, Sakura?" Tsunade clicked her tongue. "Maybe when you're older, you'll understand the value of an opportunity like this."

Sakura glowered. She knew that Tsunade was just saying that to grind her gears and to get her to stop acting like a baby. She knew that the Hokage actually regarded her as a very mature person, and an experienced ninja.

But she was still furious.

"Fine," she practically spat out, folding her arms and turning her nose up. "I'll go. But don't expect me to apologize for not being old and boring like you two geezers."

Tsunade raised her eyebrows, but looked overly unsurprised. "Many people wouldn't dare speak to their Kage in that tone."

"Many people don't know dozens of secrets said Kage has spilled when she's hammered," Sakura smiled sweetly, spun on her heel, and left the room.

* * *

"She certainly is a handful," Tsunade said, lips twitching in a poorly concealed smile.

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "She always has been. Although I will say she has been particularly…spunky lately."

"You two seem like you've gotten awfully close as of late," Tsunade noted nonchalantly as she dug through a stack of paperwork on her desk.

Kakashi froze, momentarily taken aback by this line of conversation. Yes, he and Sakura had been spending more time together lately, but everyone was just kind of…ignoring it. Or accepting it. He wasn't sure which, all he knew was that no one was really drawing attention to the fact, and he was grateful for it. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of it himself. After too much time had passed, he responded, "I suppose."

"Don't get me wrong, Kakashi, I'm not disapproving, as a matter of fact, I-"

The Hokage never got to finish her sentence. Shizune burst in at just that moment, shrieking about a forgotten meeting, and Kakashi took this excellent opportunity to flee the scene.

* * *

Sakura waited at the gates for an hour. She had anticipated his lateness and shown up a half an hour tardy herself, but that hadn't been enough. And so, the pink haired kunoichi sat twiddling her thumbs, frustration with her old sensei mounting with every passing minute. It was well after eight in the morning, and their clients were expecting them by nine.

Just as she was about to give up and start stomping towards his apartment, she heard a faint pop and a lazy "yo" as Kakashi materialized in a puff of smoke to her left. Looking completely at ease and not even a little bit sorry, he tilted his hand in a two finger salute and crinkled his eye closed in a smile. "Morning, Sakura-chan."

Sakura grit her teeth, willing herself not to scold the childish jonin standing in front of her. She knew that he was often late due to his frequent visits to the cenotaph, but she also knew that he was just as often late because he overslept or was reading. She couldn't help but shake her head a little at his carelessness.

"I'm sure you're not interested in hearing the time," Sakura frowned at him. _Baka_ …

"Not in the slightest," Kakashi replied happily, his smile intensifying has he reached over to ruffle her hair affectionately. He knew how much she hated that.

They fell into step next to one another, on their way to meet up with the two women they would be escorting.

Sakura scowled. "It's eight thirty-two."

* * *

Tsunade hadn't been wrong when she said the girl was traumatized. Sakura fought to keep from staring. The girl was probably Sakura's own age, or maybe even a little older, but she looked about five years younger. She had long, stringy, mousy brown hair that she kept tied half-up with a dusty blue ribbon. Her eyes were big, blue, and afraid, constantly darting here and there, taking in her surroundings at every moment. Her wrists were so small that Sakura thought she might be able to fit them both in one of her own petite hands. A strong gust of wind could surely blow the girl over.

The mother, Hokama-san, was a different story all-together. She was a large woman, massive, really, who probably occupied the same amount of space as Sakura, Kakashi, and her daughter, Mami, combined. Her hair was the same brown color as her daughter's, but it was short and thin, sticking up off her head in wild and unruly cowlicks. Her eyes were almost black. Sakura shuddered as she was reminded for a moment of Sasuke and his own midnight irises.

"Alright there, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi murmured quietly.

Sakura reddened upon realizing that Kakashi had probably felt her shiver, as they and Mami were crushed on one side of the covered cart since Hokama-san was taking up one bench all for herself. This fact didn't seem to bother the woman in the slightest.

"Yeah, just caught a draft," she made an attempt at a reassuring smile. It must not have been reassuring enough however, as Kakashi simply narrowed his visible eye at her and went back to his book, obviously unconvinced.

It was only a moment before she felt Kakashi's arm slide in front of hers very slightly, covering her a little with his body. Confusion washed over Sakura for a moment…and then she remembered that she had said that she was cold. Kakashi was trying to…keep her warm? She blushed at the thought. Naruto would've done the same thing, (not that he would've had the presence of mind to do so, but still). It was nothing.

And then his fingers were brushing her knee and it was something else entirely.

It was only for a moment…it was over so quickly Sakura wondered if their close proximity had fogged her brain and she had imagined the whole thing. Kakashi surely didn't look like anything had happened, he was staring at his book, apparently enthralled in the story, as he always was. He didn't look like he had just casually caressed his ex-student's knee, that's for sure.

She let her head fall back against the edge of the cart behind her, staring out the mesh covering at a sky full of stars. What was her problem? Sitting next to Kakashi shouldn't be making her feel this…strangely. She'd sat next to the man a thousand other times, for heaven's sake. But with every passing moment, Sakura became more and more aware of his body pressed up against the side of hers, and the fact that his arm was still resting casually on top of her own. She felt dizzy.

She looked up quickly, sensing eyes on her, and was just in time to see Kakashi's exposed eye dart away from her. That goddamned blush crept back up her cheeks and she closed her eyes, cursing the woman hogging the entire bench across from them. This cart ride couldn't end quickly enough…

* * *

Kakashi turned a page, hoping it wasn't completely obvious that he hadn't been reading for the past thirty minutes. He enjoyed his personal space, and he wasn't particularly _comfortable_ smashed on a tiny bench with two other people. He was situated firmly between Sakura and the edge of the cart, and there wasn't much room to move around. The wood that the cart was made out of was rough and scratchy, forcing Kakashi to move in the other direction…towards a flustered and squirming Sakura. _Not_ exactly helpful.

To distract himself, Kakashi thought over the mission and made an attempt to guess at how long it would be before he was home, safe in his apartment. They were about a day away from Wave by cart, and as soon as they got there, they could drop the mother and daughter off at home and get back to Leaf in record time, since they wouldn't have civilians to slow them down. This thought calmed him down a bit and he began to relax, although the feeling was short lived.

He sensed it just a second before he felt Sakura stiffen beside him.

He was out of the cart in a flash, followed by Sakura a moment later, causing the cart to sway side to side violently and earning undignified shrieks from the remaining occupants. Kakashi saw the driver attempt to rein in the spooked horses and pull the cart over to the side of the road. Good, they would need to stay out of the way for this.

Sakura had moved to stand beside him in the middle of the road. "You can come out now," he heard her say as he turned around. "We know you're there."

Eight masked men jumped from the trees to their right. By the looks of it, they were bandits. If they had any ninja training, they were probably no better than most genin. Kakashi didn't sense much of a threat, but he knew better than to underestimate an enemy.

The biggest one of the group stepped forward, the leader, Kakashi assumed. The man's voice was gruff and stupid as he said, "We just want the girl on the cart. Hand her over, and nobody gets hurt."

Kakashi opened his mouth to reply when Sakura's unladylike snort forced a smile to his lips. That was all the answer they needed.

"Oh, does our little princess here have an attitude?" the leader spoke again, his words taunting. "Jiro, teach her a lesson, please."

It took everything Kakashi had to not jump in front of Sakura right then, but he knew she would be livid if he made it seem like she couldn't take care of herself. And so, he stood perfectly still as he watched 'Jiro' lunge at her with his dagger…and stab her right in the heart.

* * *

Sakura laughed gleefully from the branch she was settled on as she watched the thug stab her shadow clone. She laughed even harder at his confusion when the pseudo-Sakura puffed into a cloud of smoke. She jumped from the tree, landing on the man's back and easily knocking him to the ground. Standing up, she grabbed him by the arm and used her chakra infused strength to throw him into the bandit on her left. Both men went flying for ten or so feet and hit the ground with a lot of…crunchy sounds. Neither of them stood back up.

Sensing an enemy approaching behind her, Sakura spun around quickly, using her own kunai to block her attacker's short sword. She ducked gracefully, dodging a shot at her neck, and took the opportunity to stab the man in his exposed abdomen. She turned on her left foot, using her right to kick him hard in the chest and sent him flying.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi easily fighting three of the bandits at once, obviously making no real effort. She smiled to herself. If Kakashi had three of them that meant there were two left, the leader and one other, but where were they?

A shrill scream instantly snagged Sakura's attention and she went running towards the cart. There were the other two men, each one holding onto one of Mami's and running like hell away from Sakura and Kakashi. The pink-haired medic scoffed at this and immediately jumped into action, catching up with them easily.

She vaulted in front of them, landing gracefully on her feet and smiling cheekily at them. "I'm afraid I can't let you take her anywhere. I'm being paid far too well for this to do a bad job at protecting her, you see."

"I'm warning you, little girl," the leader growled. " _Move_."

Sakura felt her face darken. This guy was a dick. "No. I'm warning _you_. I usually don't like killing civilians, or low level ninja, but if you make me, I won't hesitate to kill you." Sakura paused to examine her nails, then slowly looked back up at the men holding the small, terrified girl between them. "Do I have to kill you?"

Sakura growled in the back of her throat when neither of the men answered her. "I'm going to count to three. If I get to three and you haven't dropped her, you'll both be dead. Sound good?" Sakura smiled sweetly. "One…two…"

"Three."

Both men fell to the ground, kunai knives buried in the back of their skulls.

Sakura ran to catch Mami, who was a shivering, shaking mess. "It's okay, you're safe now, Mami. We took care of them all, I promise." The girl felt even frailer than she looked. Sakura cradled her shoulders and rocked her slowly back and forth, all the while throwing a dirty look Kakashi's way. "What'd you do that for? I had it covered. You didn't have to kill them for me."

Kakashi didn't answer her. Instead her stared at her blankly, and she was suddenly incredibly self-conscious. There was a dark look in his eyes, and she couldn't quite place it, but she knew she didn't like it. Was it…pain?

Mami's whimper brought her back to the situation at hand, forcing her to look away from Kakashi. The girl was trembling terribly, and she was paler than Sakura had ever seen her.

"Mami," Sakura began. "Do you have any idea why those men would have wanted to take you? Any reason at all?"

The frightened girl could only stare blankly ahead, and for a moment Sakura thought that she might not receive an answer. But then, Mami nodded. It was barely noticeable. Her head barely moved at all, but Sakura saw it. "Why?" the medic prompted. "Can you talk about it?"

"Because of what's inside of me," came the girl's barely audible reply. "T-they want it."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in surprise and confusion. "They want what?"

But Mami was not in a position to answer. Her body began to convulse wildly, her eyes rolled back in her head and her limbs flailed without her consent. Sakura immediately fell into medic mode, letting the girl lay flat on the ground as she used healing chakra to calm her seizing body. Slowly, Mami's body stopped its uncontrolled movement and jerks, and after a few moments, she was lying completely still, although she was still unconscious.

Sakura looked up at Kakashi, who looked just as confused as she felt, although it was always hard to tell with his stupid mask in the way. "What just happened?"

* * *

They were only a few miles outside of Wave, and Sakura still had no idea why those bandits had wanted to kidnap Mami. The girl was still unconscious, although her condition was stable, and her mother refused to make a peep, clamming up only after explaining that Mami had a seizure disorder and would likely be waking up soon. It was all _incredibly_ frustrating, to say the least. Sakura had always hated not knowing what was going on.

Kakashi had been unsettlingly quiet ever since their fight with the bandits, and Sakura wondered if she had somehow angered him about something. Was it because she didn't notice the thugs taking Mami out of the cart? Because if that was the case, he didn't notice them either, so it wasn't entirely her fault.

Whatever the reason, the silver-haired man seemed to be avoiding eye-contact with her at all costs, and he wasn't even reading his book. No, he was staring dead ahead, a glassy, distant look in his eyes. There was no attracting his attention.

"Kakashi," Sakura nudged him with her elbow, unable to take his sudden fascination with some point off in the distance. "What's wrong with you?"

She was met with silence for several seconds. "Hm?"

"I asked you what's wrong," Sakura clarified. This wasn't like Kakashi _at all_. He may be kind of spacey at times and he often was lost in his own thoughts, but this was different. Something was off and Sakura hated not knowing what it was. She hated thinking that maybe it was her fault…

Suddenly, his eye was scrunching shut in a "smile", and he was pulling his book out of his pocket, effectively shutting her out. "Nothing, Sakura-chan, just thinking."

Now it was Sakura's turn to stare blankly ahead. What was wrong with him? Shinobi sure could be moody sometimes…

* * *

When they arrive in Wave, Sakura was very uncomfortable to leave Mami there. The girl had only woken up shortly before they arrived, and had refused to speak, her lips seeming to be superglued together.

"Kakashi, something isn't right here. Why do you think those men were after Mami? It didn't seem like they were looking for money or anything, and it's not like her family is exceptionally wealthy. Why her?" Sakura reached out to grab Kakashi's arm to stop him from continuing out the gates of the village.

"You're right, Sakura. Something _isn't_ right. But we did our job and we've been dismissed so there really isn't anything else we can do here but return to Konoha and fill out our reports," Kakashi shrugged, and Sakura noted that he was still avoiding looking at her.

Sakura scoffed, and fought to control her rising temper. "I'm sorry, has my face started to disgust you or something? Are you afraid my gaze will turn you to stone?"

"Stop it."

"I'm serious! You haven't looked at me since that stupid fight with the bandits! I don't know what the hell I did to piss you off, but damn, Hatake, you need to-"

"When did you make that shadow clone?"

Sakura clamped her mouth shut. "Er…what?"

Kakashi finally turned to look at her, and that same look from before was in his eyes. The pain. "When we fought those bandits, when did you make that shadow clone?"

The pink-haired medic rubbed the back of her neck, feeling self-conscious for some reason. "Oh, that? Well, when you jumped out of the cart I cast a genjutsu to obscure the fact that I was making a shadow clone, then I jumped out into the trees and let shadow clone Sakura take my place. It's a little something Naruto and I came up when we were training one afternoon. We were trying to think of a strategy that used his expertise in shadow clones and my ability to use genjutsu."

Kakashi had closed his eyes about halfway through her explanation, and was now standing with one hand pinching the bridge of his nose and the other in his pocket, but due to the thin material of his pants, Sakura could clearly see that his fist was clenched into a tight ball. "It might've been nice to explain that little trick to me before you used it in a fight, Sakura."

"Why are you so mad about that?" Sakura folded her arms. "I don't demand that you go over every trick up your sleeve with me before we go into a fight together. It's just not practical. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before but you really have no reason to be mad at-"

"Sakura." The crack in Kakashi's voice had her words dying in her throat. "I thought you were dead."

Shit. She hadn't thought about how that trick would look to Kakashi. She hadn't considered the fact that to everyone other than her, it looked like she had just been stabbed through the heart.

"I didn't jump over there when that thug told his henchman to jump at you because I didn't want to piss you off by implying you couldn't take care of yourself, and I thought…" Kakashi coughed and looked away again. "I thought I let you die."

Sakura was in front of Kakashi in an instant, and she threw her arms around his midsection in a fierce hug. He didn't reciprocate, but she didn't care. "I'm sorry, Kakashi," her voice was muffled as her face was smashed against the fabric of his flak jacket. "I'm so stupid, I didn't even think about it like that."

And then his hand was on her back. Just one hand. He wasn't really _hugging_ her but Sakura knew he was doing his best. Physical affection wasn't exactly one of his strong suits.

"I'm sorry, that must've really freaked you out. I can't imagine how I would've reacted if I thought that I had just watched you die. I'm sorry I put you through that," Sakura pulled away to look at him, and cringed at the still haunted look in his eye. "Forgive me?"

Kakashi nodded. "You don't need forgiveness. Just…" he paused and looked skyward at the twinkling stars above them. "Don't do something like that again without telling me first."

Sakura shot him a reassuring smile. "I promise."

* * *

Kakashi wasn't sure how long he'd been staring at the wall in his apartment, but it had probably been hours. He only knew that because of how stiff his knees had become from sitting cross-legged for so long.

"Geez, Boss, whatsa matter with you? You're lookin' awful."

"Nice to see you too, Pakkun," Kakashi finally dragged his eyes away from the wall to shoot the ninken a dirty look.

The dog shrugged, if you could call it that, Kakashi wasn't sure if dogs _could_ shrug, but he could swear that Pakkun just-

"Seriously, Kakashi. What's up?"

The copy nin sighed. "Just…something weird happened on my mission. That's all."

"Your mission with Sakura?" Pakkun's ears perked up immediately. "Is she okay?"

Kakashi let his head fall into his palms. "She's alright. But I…I thought..." He heaved a sigh. He sounded like a pathetic babbling idiot, and Sakura wasn't even hurt. "She used a trick with genjutsu and shadow clones and I didn't know she had done it and I thought she got stabbed. Turned out to just be the shadow clone, though. It just shook me up a little bit, that's all. I'm fine. She's fine."

Pakkun huffed a little sigh on his own. "That's a relief. I don't know what the boys would do if something happened to Sakura, we've all gotten pretty fond of her, you know."

Kakashi smiled a little at this. "I do know."

"Is somethin' else the matter?" Pakkun asked, trying to appear casual as he scratched at his ear.

Kakashi cast the dog a sideways glance as he stood from the bed, grimacing as his achy knees popped. "Not really. I'm just…contemplating my reaction, I suppose. If Sakura really had been dead, I don't know if I would've been able to fight, and that's a dangerous thing. When I saw her get stabbed, I froze, and that's not something a ninja can afford to do."

Pakkun harrumphed. "She's you friend and teammate, Kakashi. I'm afraid there's not much you can do about that."

"I can start taking solo missions," the copy nin replied, peeling off his jonin sweater. "Or not go on missions with her."

"I can't see Sakura being very agreeable about that one, Boss."

"Don't you have something else to do right now?" Kakashi said (read: whined).

With an irritated sniff and a poof, the ninken vanished, and Kakashi was alone.

* * *

Sakura finished painting her pinkie toe with a flourish, and gently blew on it to dry the polish. She frowned at the drop of blue that had escaped the bottle and stained the rug underneath her foot.

Sai was seated behind her, drawing what felt like a swirly design of sorts on her exposed right shoulder. "Remind me why you wanted to draw on me again, Sai?"

"I need a break from drawing on paper. Seeing as how you are my favorite human subject to draw, I thought it might be interesting to draw on you," the boy explained.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How very flattering."

"While I'm glad that I have paid you a compliment, it was not intended to be one. You merely have an ideal kunoichi body type and your face is beautiful and symmetrical. Plus, your pink hair makes you unique."

"Geez, Sai," Naruto groaned from his position on Sakura's couch. "Why don't you just marry her already?

"What was that, dickless? I can't see how any of what I just said could be confused as a marriage proposal. Sakura-chan, I was merely explaining the reasons I enjoy drawing you, I was not making you an offer of marriage," Sai explained, never once lifting his brush from her shoulder.

Sakura couldn't help the laugh that fell from her lips as she rolled her eyes heavenward for the hundredth time that evening. "Don't worry, Sai. Your intentions were understood."

"Good."

* * *

"Very impressive, Sakura," Tsunade said from behind the massive stack of papers on her desk. "You managed to fool even Kakashi with your genjutsu shadow clone trick."

The pink-haired ninja kicked the toe of her sandal into the floor. Usually, a compliment like that from Tsunade would have her doing a happy dance right there in Hokage tower, but this time, all she could feel was guilt for making Kakashi worry.

"Thank you, Shishou," Sakura smiled at the stack of papers. "Although, I think I gave Kakashi-sensei a pretty good scare."

"Hm," the Hokage's head popped into view as she stood from her desk. "He did seem a little on edge when he left this morning."

Sakura frowned. "He left? Where to?"

Tsunade walked around her desk to lean on the front of it. "He came in here earlier than I've ever seen him, practically begging me for a mission that would take him out of Konoha for a few days, so he took a C ranked courier mission to Suna. Left a few hours ago."

"Oh," Sakura tried to appear nonchalant, "he just didn't mention it."

"Uh-huh," Tsunade murmured, looking at Sakura very intensely. "Did he say anything to you about your little shadow clone trick?"

"He just asked me to tell him next time I was planning on doing something like that," Sakura shrugged. "I think it sort of freaked him out. He thought I was dead for a couple of seconds."

"Hm," Tsuande stared at her for a few more seconds, and Sakura became more uncomfortable with each passing moment. No one could make her sweat like the Godaime, that was for sure.

Turning abruptly, the Hokage walked to the window behind her desk and leaned on the ledge. "Don't you have rounds at the hospital today?"

Sakura nodded lamely, even though she knew Tsunade couldn't see her. "Yes, Shishou."

"Get to it then."

* * *

Kakashi paused on a tree branch. Maybe he should have told Sakura that he was leaving. Maybe he shouldn't have…

No. He had to get his head on straight. He wasn't worrying about not telling Naruto or Sai about his mission, so he shouldn't worry about Sakura either.

He set his jaw and jumped to the next tree.

* * *

* Yeah, okay, I hate this chapter. Hate it hate it hate it. But I'm gonna post it because I've made you guys wait an ungodly amount of time and I really am sorry for it. I've been working on this chapter on and off for weeks and it just feels sloppy and disjointed and rushed and ugh. Sorry :/

** Like seriously, it's so bad, and I really am sorry.

*** I will say, writing Sai is fun as hell. Pakkun too. Prepare yourselves to see a lot of them.

**** I promise that the whole Mami thing will be coming back, that will be a plot point in a few chapters

***** I don't really have much to say this time, except I'm sorry that I kept you waiting for so long. I've been suffering from some serious writer's block, if you can't tell. If any of you are reading "When Skies are Grey", I promise I'll get back to it eventually.

****** If you feel like leaving a review, please do. I need all the motivation I can get to get to work on the next chapter.

******* I feel like I really rushed Kakashi and Sakura's relationship in the first few chapters and I'm trying to make up for that now. I hope their relationship seems at least _somewhat_ believable…

******** …review? ^_^

********* As always, thank you so much for reading. It means SO much to me ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: In Which Soup is Punished and a Face is Revealed

* * *

Kakashi's three-day mission quickly turned into two weeks. By day ten, he was laboring heavily under the guilt of not having told Sakura that he was leaving. The whole point of this mission had been to clear his head, to get away from her for a little bit…but now he found the longer he stayed away from her, the more constantly she permeated his thoughts. He just couldn't seem to shake her, no matter what he did. Spending time apart did nothing to lessen the butterflies in his stomach when he thought about her…which was often.

He wondered what she thought the first time she showed up at his apartment and he wasn't there, what she thought when Tsunade inevitably mentioned to her what he had done. He hoped desperately that she wouldn't be too angry with him when he got back, although he knew that was asking a lot, being familiar with Sakura's temper first-hand. He knew he deserved her anger, he ran away from her like a scared little boy unsure of how to handle his grown-up feelings. He had always been good at that.

Would she even speak to him? Had he just willed himself away to yet another period of Sakura ignoring him, maybe forever this time? Kakashi certainly hoped not. He wasn't sure he'd be able to take it. He'd spent months apart from Sakura before – away from the village. But now, after only two weeks, there was a Sakura shaped hole in his heart and he felt the hollowness of it acutely. Kakashi acknowledged then that he was well and truly fucked.

He felt pathetic, he felt miserable. He felt _exhausted._ Here he was, in the Hidden Sand, doing a few small favors for the Kazekage (and thus extending his mission), pining after his ex-student turned best friend. In all actuality, Sakura hadn't been his student in over seven years…they had been friends far longer than they had been student and teacher.

The copy-nin grimaced at the thought of facing her. He was only about a mile outside of the Leaf, but he had been skipping stones in a lake for the last two hours. He couldn't help but imagine a sign hanging around his neck reading "Hatake Kakashi: pervert & coward".

Perhaps he was completely overreacting to the entire situation. He might come home to find that Sakura didn't care that he left, although that possibility made his stomach twist in another way entirely. He was unsure of Sakura's feelings for him, although an unacknowledged part of his brain liked to believe that maybe she held a candle for him. After all, she was always the one to initiate contact, and she had seemed rather jealous after that night in the pub.

Throwing the last rock in his hand as far as he could out into the lake, Kakashi gathered up his pack and turned towards the Leaf. He was going to have to face her sooner or later, and honestly, sooner sounded a lot better. He'd missed her.

* * *

Sakura had been surprised to find herself crying a week after Kakashi's sudden absence. She had shown up on his doorstep after four days (having assumed he would be home by then), with a box of donuts and a bag of treats for the dogs. He hadn't been home.

Sakura frowned into her bowl of soup. It was day thirteen of his continued absence, and his thoughtlessness grated on her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. This behavior was so out of the blue and yet so _Kakashi_ all at the same time. She just couldn't understand why he would take off without saying anything, he had to know how much it would upset her, how much it _did_ upset her…

"Excuse me, earth to Forehead," Ino's voice disrupted Sakura's thoughts, as it so often seemed to do. "You're staring at your soup like it murdered your firstborn. Care to share?"

Making what was probably a useless attempt to control her expression (Kakashi always said she wore her heart on her sleeve), Sakura raised her eyes to look at Ino. "Nah, I'm just in a bad mood is all, rough day at work."

"Oh, _please_ , Sakura." The blonde rolled her eyes and flipped her ponytail off of her exposed shoulder. "I know your 'bad-work-day-face' and _this_ isn't it. You're pissed about something…what is it? Did Naruto put his foot in it again? Or Sai? _Kakashi_? This isn't about Sasuke is it?"

Latching onto the lie, Sakura sighed. "Yeah, it's about…Sasuke, I guess. I just can't believe he had the balls to propose to me after having virtually no contact with me for so long. He has barely spoken to me since then, but I think he's still expecting me to run to him and tell him yes. I hope everyone doesn't see me as the pathetic piece of garbage that he does."

There. All of that was the truth. It wasn't the reason she was glaring daggers into her dinner, but none of what she said was a lie.

Ino quirked an eyebrow, but didn't press the matter further. Instead, she simply said: "Sasuke is an arrogant dumbass who doesn't realize how much you've grown. He still sees you as the weak twelve-year old who would've done anything for a chance with him. He's an egotistical moron."

The medic chuckled, her friend's scathing review of her ex was enough to boost her sour mood a bit…at least enough to eat her soup instead of punishing it with her withering gaze. "Thanks, Ino. You're right. It was just…extremely unexpected."

"You just need to get yourself a new boyfriend, really show him that you're not interested, you know? That'll do it," a wicked smile colored Ino's expression. "I could set you up with someone, you know. I know a few guys who would _definitely_ be interested in going on a date with Konoha's gorgeous top-medic."

Sakura snorted. "Thanks, Ino, but I can't say I'm particularly interested in being set-up with the men you've decided to be not good enough for yourself."

Ino picked an invisible hair out of her food, grimacing at it before flicking it off of her finger onto the floor. "Believe it or not, I know a few men that I haven't actually dated. Some of them were too, I don't know, _bookish_ for me. The broody, intellectual type isn't really my thing."

"Still, I don't know Ino…maybe provoking Sasuke's anger isn't the best idea." Sakura stirred her soup idly, her appetite suddenly shrinking as she imagined herself on a date with one of Ino's _bookish_ boys. "You know how his temper is."

A frown marred Ino's perfect features. "Since when have you been afraid of Sasuke's temper? You can't honestly expect me to believe that, unless – wait a minute! Haruno Sakura, are you already seeing someone?"

"W-what?" Sakura's soup went down the proverbial wrong pipe as she choked out the question. "No! Don't you think you'd be the first to know if I was?"

Ino would most certainly _not_ be the first one to know if Sakura was in a relationship, as the blonde was notorious for a mouth even bigger than Naruto's. But Ino didn't need to know that. Sakura deemed her lie necessary for the continuation of her good health.

"I think you're lying," Ino narrowed her eyes, "but I won't push you, for now at least."

"Thank you." Sakura brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, noting how long it had gotten over the past few months. She wasn't struck with the urge to cut it as she so usually was.

"However, to make up for your obvious deceit, you will be accompanying me shopping and then to the movies, and there is nothing you can say or do to get out of it," Ino turned her nose up, pulling out her wallet to pay her part of the bill. "Since I know you don't have a mission today and you don't have a significant other to get home to."

"Fine," Sakura sighed, only a little put out that going home to pout would be put off for a few more hours.

* * *

Kakashi walked into the village to a cold greeting. The gate guards nodded at him and offered friendly waves, but there was no one else to be seen. It was the middle of the day and extremely hot out, and most people were hidden away in their homes, avoiding the heat. Feeling the heat himself, Kakashi decided to head home to shower and change before he went to find Sakura. _If_ he went to find Sakura. He still had no idea what he should do.

Would she be too mad to even speak to him? Would she be mad at all? He somberly turned over the possibility that he might have ruined something permanently as he trudged home with weary steps. Perhaps it was all for the better, he wasn't exactly an ideal friend. He was quiet, he was lonely, he read all the time, he wasn't much of a conversationalist.

Kakashi hadn't felt this crappy about himself in years. The guilt of running away from her unannounced had begun to outweigh the guilt of his feelings for her. Overall, he felt like a pathetic, guilt-ridden mess of a man. If only she wasn't so damn beautiful, or smart, or funny, or _perfect_ …

The copy-nin smacked himself on the forehead hard enough that the metal of his headband stung his hand. _That_ line of thinking would get him nowhere fast. He was home now. He would find Sakura and be glad to see her, as he would be glad to see Naruto, Sai, and Genma. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kicking his shoes off at his front door, Kakashi haphazardly bit his thumb and summoned Pakkun, as he so often did upon returning home from a mission.

"Sup, Boss?" the ninken jumped up on Kakashi's leg, nudging at his hand to encourage then man to pet him.

"Hey, Pakkun," Kakashi sighed, immediately regretting his decision. If anyone could see right through him, it was Pakkun. Damned animal instincts.

As if on cue, Pakkun began sniffing him more intently. "Hey…whatsamatter, Boss? Ain't ya happy to be back home? Did something happen on your mission?"

"No," the silver-haired man rubbed his face wearily, pulling down his mask to scratch his chin. "I just did something stupid before I left, that's all."

Pakken made a sound that sounded startlingly like a human snort. "Lemme guess, did it have to do with our most lovely Sakura-chan?"

Kakashi scowled at the knowing look on the pug's smug little face. Damn him. "I just didn't tell her I was going. I'm worried she might be mad at me."

"Sakura, the girl who's practically famous for her temper?" Pakkun questioned, hoping lightly on to the couch and settling down on a worn-out pillow. "Yeah, I'd say you're in trouble. Sorry, Boss. Why'd ya go and leave without tellin' her?"

"I thought I needed some…space," Kakashi sighed, unsure of how much to disclose to his dog, although he was sure Pakkun had already made his assumptions. "Turns out, I didn't."

"She's not gonna let you push her away, Kakashi. Sakura's not that kinda girl. Plus, the rest of the ninken will have your head if you do manage to get rid of her," Pakkun curled up lazily among his pillows. "I'd venture to say they love her almost more than you do."

Kakashi choked on the air he was breathing. "Wait a second, I don't – I mean it's not like – I'm not – "

"Save it, Boss," Pakkun closed his eyes, effectively ending the conversation. "You have your opinion, I have mine."

Kakashi stood, mouth hanging open, staring at the now sleeping pug in disbelief. He didn't _love_ Sakura, that's not what this was…right? This was just a crush…a wildly inappropriate crush on a pretty girl _far too young for him._ He hadn't even considered love – he refused to consider it. That's not what this was and that was that.

Making his way to the shower and suddenly feeling a bit more lost than he ever thought possible, Kakashi began to dread the moment he would come face to face with his Sakura-chan.

* * *

There was a light on in his living room.

Sakura had started taking the long way home at some point during the last two weeks – the long way that led her right past Kakashi's crooked little townhouse in a surprisingly civilian part of town. She refused to call it stalking, she was just…checking up on things. She frequently watered the plants on his front porch, as he usually requested her to do when he was away (although this time he hadn't, for obvious reasons). She had bought him those plants earlier that spring, and it made her glad that he had actually made an effort to keep them alive. Well, until he bailed without saying anything, that is. If she hadn't been stopping by to water them, the intense late summer heat would have killed them. She was still angry about that.

Now she stood, blue watering can in hand, unsure of whether she wanted to burst into his home all flailing limbs and harsh words, or turn around right there and go cry into her pillow at home.

Steeling her resolve, Sakura stomped her way up his porch steps, setting her mind to scold the bastard for taking off on her. To say that she had some abandonment issues was an understatement…Sasuke had made sure of that. Kakashi knew that, too, and so his thoughtlessness hurt even more. He knew better and that made his small betrayal sting all the more.

Tossing the watering can onto the porch and slamming open his front door, which wasn't locked, (it never was), so hard she surely left a dent in his wall, she called out, "Kakashi-bastard!"

The man in question stepped out from around the corner…and nearly caused Sakura to trip over her own angry feet in shock.

His hair was so wet it was stuck to his forehead, dripping water all over the floor. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and a hand held up covering the bottom half of his face where his mask should have been. He scrunched his eyes shut in what appeared to be a very tense smile. "Ah, Sakura-chan."

Sakura spluttered. " _Sakura-chan_? Is that all you have to say for yourself? You were gone for two weeks and you didn't even tell me! And maybe…maybe it's wrong for me to be mad about that, but _damn it_ I'm mad! How would you feel if I did that to you, hmm? I had half a mind to accept the two-month mission Tsunade-sama offered me a few days after you left, you know!" That last bit had been a devious lie, but Sakura was desperate to see what kind of reaction her words would have on the man – if any.

She was not entirely disappointed.

A flash of _something_ crossed his expression, darkening his features just a bit. "Two months?"

Sakura swallowed, willing herself not to be distracted by the very attractive, very half-naked man before her. No amount of medical related nudity could have prepared her to deal with _this_. "See, I don't do that to my friends. I wouldn't even go on a half-day mission without telling you." She turned away then, half to hide her tears and half to get him out of her sight. She couldn't think straight with him standing there… _dripping_ like that.

"Sakura…" she heard him say, voice strained.

" _What?"_ she laced the word with as much venom as she could, surprising herself with her own anger. She turned just in time to see him drop his hand from his face to push the wet hair from his brow.

Sakura did what came naturally. Her hands immediately flew up to cover her eyes and a startled squeak that she was _so_ not proud of escaped her lips. "What the hell, Kakashi! I was _not_ ready for that, you jerk!"

The man had the audacity to chuckle then, and Sakura growled in the back of her throat.

"Sakura, I'm standing here in a towel and you're covering your eyes because I had the audacity to show you my face?"

"You can't just _spring_ it on me like that! I've been waiting for years and I just can't believe that you chose this moment to – "

"Just open your eyes, Sakura," she heard Kakashi sigh. "Think how jealous Naruto will be."

A fair point, Sakura conceded, and so as carefully and as slowly as she could muster, Sakura cracked her eyes back open.

In the short period that she had had her eyes closed, Kakashi had somehow managed to change into a plain black t-shirt and a pair of loose fitting grey sweatpants. He had also towel-dried his hair a bit, causing it to stick up wildly in a hundred different directions. She focused on all of this before she allowed her gaze to wander to his unhidden face. He hadn't put his mask back on.

He was handsome in a pretty sort of way. Quite honestly, he looked a lot like Sakura had pictured that he would. His features were a bit delicate, not quite feminine… a little harsher than that. When Kakashi opened his mouth to blow out a breath, Sakura noticed that his canine teeth were very pointy, almost like Kiba's, but not quite as pronounced. His left cheek had a dimple.

All-in-all, he looked extremely young. Maybe it was the wet hair, but if Sakura had to judge him on appearance alone, she would have guess him in his mid to late twenties, but no older. The only give away was his eyes – they implied an age much older than his thirty-one years.

"Why?" Sakura barely managed to choke out the word. The single syllable held so much meaning, and they both knew it. She was asking why he had shown her his face, why he hadn't told her he was leaving, and why he hadn't come to see her the moment he got back to explain himself.

Kakashi shrugged, leaning up against the wall and hesitantly making eye-contact. He was obviously nervous to have his face on display. Sakura tried to ignore the part where that was adorable. "I figured it was time you saw my face, I also figured giving you something to lord over Naruto might help make up for the asshole I've been to you."

Sakura fought the smile rising to her lips. Rolling her eyes, she gave into the desire to send a lopsided grin at the now mask-less man standing in front of her. "Does this mean you'll leave your mask off every time I come over now?"

The look of relief on Kakashi's face was clear. "You're still going to come over?"

Sakura scoffed at him, making her way to his kitchen to keep from openly staring at him for too long. No need to make a _total_ fool of herself. "Of course I am. You're not getting rid of me that easily, Hatake," she raised a spatula from his counter and pointed it at him threateningly. "Now sit on your couch while I make some tea and you can tell me all about this _two-week long_ mission to Suna."

* * *

Sakura got up to leave around two in the morning. Kakashi was a little disappointed when she didn't fall asleep on his couch, but tried to not let it show as she stood and stretched, mumbling something about cereal and bed. That girl sure as hell loved her cereal. Such a cute little weirdo…

Sakura left him with a pretty smile, a little wave, and a gentle brush of his arm that left his skin tingling as though he had been burnt. The front door clicked shut quietly behind her, and Kakashi was painfully aware of her absence the moment she was out of the door. He sighed gently, reveling in the feeling of the air moving past his lips unencumbered by his mask. He had gotten into the habit of wearing it even when he was home alone, and so having had it off for so many hours had begun to feel strange.

A loud knock on the door startled the ninken lying all around his living room. Bull threw Pakkun off of his head in his great hurry to stand and the poor little pug flew into the side of the couch.

"Good to know that I have guard dogs, always on alert," Kakashi grumbled at them as a whole, irritated to be answering his door so late at night. Sakura probably wouldn't have knocked, so he was almost sure that it wasn't her. He was debating not answering when a second, more urgent knock sounded. Rolling his eyes and grabbing his mask from the counter-top, Kakashi made his way to the door and pulled it open grumpily. He _had_ just returned from a two-week mission, after-all.

He was surprised to find a very irritable Shikamaru, and a nearly equally irritated Sakura trailing a few feet behind him.

"The Hokage needs to see you," Shikamaru cleared his throat, exhaustion clear in his tone. "Both of you."

"And this can't possibly wait for the morning?" Kakashi didn't even try to hide the pout in his voice. Sakura clearly picked up on it if her snort was anything to go by.

Shikamaru frowned. "I'd like to think you know me well enough to know that I wouldn't be here if it could. Mission business, you know."

"Come on, Kakashi," Sakura motioned for him to come out onto the porch, and he obliged begrudgingly. "Tsunade wouldn't call you out hours after you getting home if it wasn't something important."

Kakashi held a hand out in front of him, sighing dramtically. "Alright, lead the way, you two."

* * *

Tsunade was looking rough, and that was putting it nicely. She looked exhausted, even her henge wasn't helping to keep the tired look out of her eyes. Papers were stacked high on either side of her desk, and her poor potted plants looked nearly as wilted as she did. Sakura frowned.

"Ah, thank you for getting these two for me, Shikamaru," Tsunade stifled a yawn. "Go ahead and go home, you've been here long enough today."

The Nara left with a slight bow and mumbled: "I only had to go ten feet from one to find the other," as he quickly passed through the door and out into the hall. Sakura couldn't help but deepen her frown when Shikamaru walked passed her, bringing with him the distinct scent of cigarette smoke. He had told her that the patches had been working and he'd quit. _Liar._

"I apologize for the late visit from Shikamaru, especially to you, Kakashi, I know you just got home," the Hokage stood behind her desk and stretched her arms out. "I need to send you two out on a mission."

"What? Right now?" Sakura tried to keep the pout from her voice. "What about Kakashi? He hasn't even gotten to sleep yet."

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at that comment and Sakura felt her cheeks redden. If Tsunade hadn't known that they had been together at two in the morning, she probably did now. Not that they were _doing_ anything, but…it certainly at least implied something.

Luckily, the Hokage was either too tired or too irritable to mention it. "Yes, right now, unfortunately. You're going back to Wave. The young lady you two escorted a few weeks ago, Mami, has been kidnapped from her home. We just received an emergency message from her mother, specifically requesting the two of you for help."

Sakura's heart sank. She felt so terrible for that poor, frail girl she had met. She couldn't imagine what anyone would want from her…although there had been that vague comment about the bandits 'wanting what was inside of her.' "What could they possibly want with Mami? Did the mother say or give any indication that she had an idea?"

The Godaime shook her head solemnly. "No, but I assume the mother is most likely hiding something. It strikes me as odd that there was a kidnapping attempt made when the two of you were escorting her, and not more than a month or so later, a successful attempt was made. There is clearly something fishy going on here."

"Right." Kakashi nodded. "So, we leave for Wave as soon as possible?"

"Yes," Tsunade plopped back into her chair without ceremony. "Go get yourselves packed as quickly as possible and have Sakura give you a soldier pill. How's your chakra level?"

Sakura didn't answer, as the question was clearly directed to Kakashi. He was notorious for overusing chakra on missions and she herself was notorious for her insane ability to conserve and control chakra. She was _kind of_ a badass, if she did say so herself.

"It's fine," Kakashi confirmed, popping his knuckles. "It's not as good as it could be, but nothing I can't deal with. The last few days in Suna were spent mostly helping with tactics and strategy so I only really spent chakra on the run home."

A rare, kind smile lit Tsunade's lips. "Good. Now you two get out of here, get ready, and go. Don't bother reporting back here before you leave, I'll have the gate guards confirm your departure time."

"Yes, Shishou," Sakura bowed slightly, turning to go and locking eyes with Kakashi. There was a grim set to his face. It was clear that neither of them had a good feeling about this.

* * *

* Heya, kids. Bet you thought I'd never update this. GUESS AGAIN.

** That's right, I'm back at it. Don't know how fast I'll be able to update, but I'm going to do my best here. I just started school back up for the semester, so what better time to get back into writing! …right? RIGHT?

*** Anyway, hopefully this chapter was tolerable. Honestly, not my favorite, and not as long as I would have liked, but I wanted to get something posted for you. I'll do my best to make the next chapter longer.

**** Is anyone even still reading this? xD

***** If so, please drop me a review and let me know what you think and if you're looking forward to the rest!

****** If you've stuck with this story, thank you! You guys are great and your reviews and comments really keep me going. Love you all! 3


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sakura and Kakashi barely talked on their way to Wave, but it was a comfortable silence – the kind Sakura had with someone she knew well, someone she liked.

 _Someone she liked._

The medic shook her head violently, almost causing her foot to slip off of the branch she had just stepped on. Cursing herself under her breath, she shot Kakashi a grin and a thumbs up when he turned to check on her, one eyebrow raised. Sakura never slipped, even when she was forced to run fast enough to keep up with the infamous speed of the copy-ninja. It was just part of having excellent chakra control.

Luckily for her, Kakashi shrugged and turned back ahead, clearly suspicious, but not enough to comment on it. That was an aspect of Kakashi's personality that Sakura was always grateful for – he wasn't pushy. He was always quick to check on her, but if she didn't seem to want to be bothered, he wouldn't pry. He always respected secrets. It must come naturally, Sakura thought, since he had so many secrets of his own.

"How much farther to the boats, do you think?" Sakura asked, feeling the need to say something to break the tension she felt she had just created.

Kakashi turned his head to the side, presumably so she'd be able to hear him through the wind. "I'd say another hour or two. Why? Do you need a break?" He had already slowed his pace, and was casting a questioning look at her, just a hint of concern beneath the surface.

"No, no, I'm fine," Sakura caught up to run beside him, "I'm just anxious to get there, I'm a little worried about Mami, to be honest."

 _There._ That wasn't a lie, she _was_ worried about Mami, that much was true. It wasn't the only reason she was being awkward or bumbling around like an idiot, but it would serve as a viable excuse for now. Ah, deception.

Kakashi nodded, "I know. I don't have a great feeling about this either. Here's hoping we find her safe and sound, hm?"

Sakura smiled grimly and gave a curt nod. "Here's hoping."

* * *

Something was up with Sakura, but he wasn't stupid enough to push her on it.

Kakashi had learned long ago that sometimes it was best to wait Sakura out, she usually came forward with her feelings eventually. This time, however, he worried things might be different. She was beginning to feel closed off from him again, and after the night they had spent in his apartment less than twelve hours before, he wasn't expecting it. She was clearly struggling with something. Should he just…ask?

"Sakura…" he began, his nerve lost before he could even continue his sentence. _Fuck,_ was he twelve years old?

Sakura eyed him expectantly. "Hm?"

Great, now he had to say something. "What exactly did Mami say to you before, on that last mission?" He grimaced. They had already discussed this, but he was hoping that Sakura would assume that he was just concerned for the girl's well-being.

"She said 'they want what's inside of me', but she didn't say who or what," Sakura frowned, clearly giving the subject some thought. "I've tossed around several ideas, so I'm glad you brought this up. Kakashi, do you think she might be pregnant?"

The girl was a genius. How had he not thought of that? "I think that's a very real possibility. Maybe whoever impregnated her wants her back?"

"My thoughts exactly," Sakura's face took on a dark look. "And if the girl really has a seizure disorder, she could be in very real danger – not just from her kidnappers, but from her own body – especially if she doesn't have her medication."

"We need to talk to her mother, find out exactly what happened and who she may have been with – I assume her mother is probably aware of the situation, especially since she was being so secretive. With Wave being so conservative, it's not surprising," Kakashi slowed his pace a touch to make talking easier.

"She may have been raped," Sakura's face took on a disturbed value, "That would explain her PTSD symptoms."

"Alright," Kakashi frowned, picking his pace back up to full-speed, "Our first order of business will be getting the truth out of the mother, and we won't be leaving until we get it."

* * *

The ferry ride to Wave was rocky and had left Sakura feeling rather green in the face. She funneled chakra through her hand over her abdomen, attempting to alleviate her nausea as she and Kakashi walked through the city streets to Mami's home.

"You alright?" Kakashi shot her a look over his shoulder.

Sakura coughed lamely. "Yeah, just a little sea-sick. You know how I am with boats."

"I know," he smiled at her through his mask, "Our little Sakura-chan hasn't developed her sea-legs."

Sakura smacked him on the arm. "Go ahead, laugh at my pain. But don't come crying to me next time you've got a cold and you're laying on your couch with a fever dying a slow and painful man-sickness death."

"Hang on a second, you could never be so cruel," Kakashi put a hand over his heart. "You know you could never turn away a sick and dying…friend."

Sakura went quiet and tried to decide if she imagined the part where Kakashi choked on the word friend. This was seriously getting to her head, she needed to stop panicking and start focusing on the mission. Mami's life could be at stake.

They approached the Hakama estate. An impressive courtyard filled with beautiful landscaping stretched out in front of the equally impressive mansion. Sakura eyed it all rather skeptically, furrowing her brow as she turned to Kakashi and said, "They're much wealthier than I had anticipated."

Kakashi bobbed his head. "From what I understand, this family essentially controls merchant business in Wave. Buying, selling, trading, these guys have a hand in it all."

"Gotcha," Sakura frowned. She hadn't gotten the impression that the family was this wealthy when they had escorted them before. Were they hiding it on purpose? And if they were…why?

"I am curious as to why Hakama-san seemed to conceal their wealth from us," Kakashi mused, as though reading her mind, "She really didn't seem to want us to know."

"Maybe she didn't want us to know how big of a target they really were," Sakura scowled. "That's almost as stupid as it is dangerous.

Kakashi spared her a glance. "It explains why she paid so well, though."

"True," Sakura conceded. "But it was still stupid of her."

"Not everyone can be as smart as our Sakura-chan," the copynin crushed his eyes shut in a smile.

Sakura couldn't deny the sudden fluttering in her stomach at the compliment and the suffix. She felt like a child. She couldn't believe that such subtle, friendship-type behaviors had her reacting this way. What would Kakashi think if he knew how his words affected her now? He'd probably be worried to team up with her, since she was distracted…

"Earth to Sakura, come in, Sakura."

Sakura grimaced as she realized she was getting distracted thinking about being distracted. _Damn,_ she was a mess. "Sorry, Kakashi. I'm kind of out of it today." She spared him an apologetic glance, meeting his eye momentarily. His head was tipped just a bit to the side and Sakura couldn't help but be reminded a bit of Pakkun. She smiled.

Their knock on the front door of the great house was answered immediately by a harried looking servant, hair sticking up wildly from underneath her little cap. "You must be the shinobi from Leaf? Please, do come in. Hakama-san is just in the sitting room, here to the left."

The two Leaf nin followed behind the maid quickly, not struggling to keep up as she wove through rooms and halls at a near run. After what seemed like an unnecessary maze, the trio finally turned a corner and found Hakama-san, wringing her hands on an impossibly uncomfortable looking chaise. She shot to her feet upon seeing the help from Leaf, only swaying a little as her great size caused her to be unsteady on her feet.

"Thank the gods you are here," Hakama-san clasped her hands together in front of her face. "My daughter, she is taken away. You must find her for me, please, you must."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "We will do everything in our power, Hakama-san. But we had to come to you first. We have nothing to go on right now. Can you tell us anything at all about who might have kidnapped Mami? Did you see anything? Do you have any enemies we need to know about?"

"I know exactly who took her." Hakama-san spoke in such a grave tone that Sakura felt a stone in her stomach.

"Who?" Kakashi took a step forward, posture relaxed but expression showing his true interest in the matter.

Hakama-san took a steadying breath. "Our next door neighbors."

Sakura frowned, shooting a look at Kakashi. "You neighbors did this?" she asked, returning her attention to the woman of the house. "How do you know?"

"Mami was betrothed to the eldest son of Saito family. His name is Hiroji. Always seemed like such a nice boy…" the woman trailed off, a devastatingly sad, far off look in her eyes. She suddenly looked eighty years old.

Sakura took a step forward, taking the lady's hand and guiding her back to her seat. The medic herself sat on the ornate foot rest, elbows on her knees. "Go on, we have to know everything you know to give us the best odds of rescuing your daughter."

"They were childhood friends," Mami's mother continued, "attached at the hip in their younger years. Of course, they grew apart with age, as boys and girls often do – especially in the social class they both run in." There was just a touch of pride in her otherwise distraught tone. "Mami was delighted when she learned she would be marrying Hiroji. She hadn't seen much of him in years, as her disorder keeps her near home most days, but she remembered her childhood friend and was excited to be bound to someone she at least knew." There was a brief pause as Hakama-san dabbed at her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief.

"She came home a few months ago, from what was supposed to be a supervised visit, completely distraught and with some very suspicious bruises. She tried to cover it up, but she was transparent. She eventually became so upset she triggered one of her seizing fits, and it took two of the best medics in town to stabilize her. I can only imagine what my girl is going through now – she may already be –" The tears overtook her voice then, and Hakama-san fell into a fit of ugly sobbing.

"Alright," Sakura began slowly. "I think I can understand what happened here. But why would the Saito family kidnap your daughter? Is she…pregnant? Are they so desperate for an heir?"

"Hiroji may be yet young, but he has become a power-hungry fool, just like his father," Hakama-san spat out the name of her daughter's rapist with such venom, Sakura flinched. "Even though I immediately broke off the engagement, he still views Mami-chan and her baby as his. In all honesty, he probably is keeping her relatively comfortable, as surely he wants his child to live. But, Mami, she is weak and gentle," the woman's eyes filled with tears. "She won't survive him."

Sakura's heart went out to the woman. Although she still harbored some anger towards her for lying about their wealth and being standoffish before, Sakura now saw the terror that prompted the behavior. Hakama-san was just trying to protect her daughter, and Sakura could understand and even respect that.

"Our job is to return your daughter safely to you, Hakama-san, and you can be sure we will do everything within our power to make sure that happens," Kakashi spoke up. "We are very good at our job, I can assure you." There was a lilt of well-concealed arrogance laced in his tone.

Hakama-san bowed her head slightly, "I thank you for that."

Kakashi leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "It would have been helpful to know of your neighbor's involvement before we came here," his tone wasn't accusing, it was purely tactical. "They may have seen us arrive. We'll need to disguise ourselves now to be sure they can't recognize us."

"I…apologize, for my secrecy," the woman of the house kept her eyes on the floor. "I was only doing what I thought necessary, I thought it would be safer to make as small a fuss as possible."

Sakura sighed, sparing the woman a small smile. There was no point in torturing her now, the woman's daughter had been kidnapped. She was suffering enough. "We'll need as much info about the Saito's as you can give us. We need to know as much about their day-to-day activities as you can give us."

Hakama-san nodded her head aggressively, thin hair slipping from the intricate knot at the base of her neck. "I've lived next to them for over twenty years, I'll tell you absolutely everything I know."

* * *

"This shouldn't be too difficult," Kakashi said, shooting a glance over at Sakura who was in the process of applying a complicated henge to her appearance. She had given herself long, dark brown hair and sparkly blue eyes. She was utterly changed and…and he couldn't say he particularly liked it. He immediately missed her brightly colored hair and her intuitive green eyes and that cheerful spatter of freckles across her nose and gods _help_ him he was in trouble.

Sakura seemed to pick up on his inner turmoil and frowned at him, "You okay there, Kakashi?"

"Ah," the Copy-Nin did his best to smile good-naturedly beneath his mask, "Yes, Sakura-chan, I'm fine."

Sakura simply nodded and turned around, much to Kakashi's relief, and began fiddling with her weapons, finding good places to hide them beneath her plain, dark clothes. "This whole situation just really grosses me out," she sighed, lifting the hem of her shirt to strap a kunai to her side, "I can't believe that this Hiroji guy would do something so terrible to his childhood best friend. I mean, it would be awful no matter who he did it to, but to Mami? That's just exceptionally cruel."

Kakashi heard rather than saw her frown, and he quietly approached her to lay a hand on her slight shoulder. She paused what she was doing, seeming to hesitate, before she gently laid her hand over his own, never turning around. They stood there like that for a moment, and Kakashi wasn't eager to move. Sakura stepped away though, turning to offer him a small smile before she headed towards the mirror in the bathroom to check her henge.

"Can we go over everything again?" his former student asked as she stood at the bathroom vanity, tweaking her features here and there. "I want to make sure that everything is clear."

"Hn," Kakashi grunted, falling back on the little couch in the guestroom they were situated in. "Well, the ultimate goal will be to sneak in without getting caught, of course. We'll go in tonight, after midnight. There will likely be guards, nothing we can't handle. You'll go in an upstairs window, preferably on the backend of the house as that is probably where they're keeping her, and I'll go in through the cellar, just in case. Try not to smash anyone's skull in, as we really need to keep our body count at zero. The Saito's will know that Hakama-san is the one who orchestrated this, and they will be furious enough already without members of their security detail killed."

"Right," Sakura nodded. "This shouldn't be very difficult, then, I suppose."

Kakashi shook his head, "No, it shouldn't. I am more concerned about what happens after we get her back. What will stop the Saito clan from sending more men over to kidnap Mami once we have returned her home and gone?"

"Good point," Sakura frowned, "Maybe we should ask Hakama-san what her plan is? Certainly they'll need some form of protection…"

"We'll be sure to ask her before we head out tonight," Kakashi agreed. "Do you have your radio headset ready to go?"

Sakura held up the little earpiece and its corresponding box up in her hand, letting the wire dangle from her dainty fingers. "Aye aye, captain."

Kakashi reached out and ruffled her hair in the way he knew she hated, frowning slightly at the way the dark strands looked through his fingers. "It's so weird to see you looking so different."

"Really?" Sakura asked, tipping her head in that charming way she did. "I suppose it probably is. You look pretty different with dark hair, yourself."

"Ah, right," Kakashi ran a hand through his tangled mess of hair, remembering that he had set-up his henge a half an hour ago. He'd also covered his mask with bandages and removed his hitai-ate, choosing to just keep his eye squinted shut as though it was missing.

They were both dressed similarly in unmarked clothing. Not quite typical ninja garb but not civilian either. They both had on stretchy black pants that tightened around the ankle, and a similarly black and stretchy long-sleeved shirt. The only difference was that Sakura's shirt was cut off to expose a few inches of her midriff. Kakashi knew this wasn't for vain purposes, rather because a kunoichi's body was one of her most powerful weapons – a beautiful woman showing just a little bit of skin could easily take a man off-guard. And Sakura was surely beautiful.

Shaking that thought out of his head quickly, Kakashi pulled out his own radio and got it switched on and turned to the correct channel. "Let's head down and talk to Hakama-san about her plans for once we get Mami home."

* * *

Sakura sipped her tea across the table from Hakama-san, her heart going out to the poor, grief-stricken mother. She began to pity her more and more, realizing that the woman had done what she thought would be best for her daughter.

"I actually just received correspondence from the men I had hired as security for once Mami arrived back home. They were supposed to be here yesterday, you see. I had hired a couple of ninja from Suna to protect Mami for the remainder of her pregnancy and to scare the Saito clan away from us, but the letter I received yesterday informed me that one of the nin was killed in action by a rogue nin. They were coming to us here from a mission they were on in Mist. Now, there is no time for Suna to send a replacement."

"We will stay, Hakama-san, until the replacements from Suna have time to arrive," Sakura blurted the words before she even had time to think. "We will just have to inform our Hokage as soon as possible that we will be delayed for a few days."

Kakashi shot her a look from his spot at the table, but said nothing. She tried to make her face appear apologetic before turning back to Hakama-san, offering the woman a warm smile.

"You are so kind, Sakura-san. I can't thank you enough," Hakama-san's eyes were welling with fresh tears. "I know that guard duty is probably beneath someone of your skill level, but I promise, your time will be well worth it."

Sakura only smiled and nodded at the woman, returning her attention to the tea cup settled between her hands. She couldn't wait to get Mami back home, and give her a thorough medical examination. She wanted to be absolutely certain that both Mami and her unborn child were healthy.

"It's eleven-thirty, Sakura," Kakashi's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "Want to head upstairs and get everything ready to go?"

Sakura took the last drink of her tea and stood. "Let's go."


End file.
